Love is confusing
by Baxxie
Summary: Carlos has never been good at love. He just can't figure it out and things get worse when the new guy starts to hit on him and he starts to dream weird things about his friends... Warning: contains slash. Eventual pairing undecided, so go and vote!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Greetings

Carlos Garcia had never been good with girls. His whole life all women laughed at him, walked away in disgust or just ruffled his hair and told him he reminded them of their little brother. He was 'cute' or 'gross' or his personal favorite 'out of his mind'.

Not that he ever blamed anyone to call him that. He was crazy. He couldn't recall a time when he didn't find some crazy stunt to do and draw attention to him. He simply couldn't help it. It's not like he got the attention at home. Not with his other five siblings in the way. So, he had to find another way to get it.

The crazier and more dangerous the stunts, the better. When he and his friends first left Minnesota to live in LA and find the Hollywood dream, he quieted down. Some.

But pretty soon his friends started having girlfriends and he was again left craving for attention. It wasn't like his friends had never tried to help him get a girlfriend. It just never worked.

First there had been Stephanie. A beautiful brown-haired girl who made low-budget movies for fun. She had been amazing and they had even gone to the Palm Woods dance together. But in the end, she made it clear she wanted to stay friends. Because when they had their first kiss, she felt like she was kissing her brother.

Then there was Sasha. She had literally bumped into him with a corn dog in hand and a hockey stick in the other. She had seemed so perfect. Too good to be true. And she was. Truthfully, she was just an actress hired by their record producer Gustavo to make him fall in love and break his heart. All so he could sing their break up song better.

After that, no other girlfriends had popped up. Well, it wasn't like there hadn't been opportunities. Jo and Kendall once set up a speed-dating event. All for him. But he tried to be himself and failed to remember all the good etiquette his mom had ever taught him. And one by one all the girls all but fled away from him.

Plus there had been that new girl he had asked out in the Palm Woods lobby. She was gorgeous and he only got the courage to do it because of a fortune telling parrot. She had even said yes and he couldn't believe his luck! But then, the bird informed him he had 24 hours to live and he had wasted the rest of his time in their apartment bathroom. Needless to say, she had moved by the time he realized what had happened.

So here he was again, just sitting by the Palm Woods pool, alone. He sat there, staring at his friends as they chatted to their girlfriends.

The smart one in their group, Logan, had finally summed up the courage to tell crazy method actress Camille how he felt. And even though she had slapped him right after, their kiss had made Palm Woods history as everyone watched and cheered.

Their leader, Kendall, had been together with his girlfriend Jo for quite some time now. There had even been a time where he himself had had a crush on Jo. He had tried to win her affection when she walked through the lobby doors, along with Kendall and Logan. But eventually Kendall was the only one who pursued her further and he won her in the end.

Then there was James. The pretty one of the group, 'The Face'. He only had to wave at a girl and she would latch onto his arm. He could whistle and he had a date, but no matter how hard he tried to whistle for Carlos, girls always turned him down. In the beginning, James had tried to include him by dragging him to double dates. But after Carlos messed it up a fifth time, James gave up.

They all gave up. And so did he. He had enough. He crossed his arms, let his helmet sink over his eyes and leaned back in the lounge chair, sighing in frustration.

"Is this seat taken?" A voice suddenly sounded beside him. He peered from underneath his helmet and frowned a little at the unknown boy standing next to him.

"Uh, no, it's free." He told the boy, who offered him a smile of gratitude. He smiled back and looked the boy over. He had to be new here; he'd never seen him before.

The boy had short, dark blond hair. He was short, about the same height as Carlos himself. His skin was toned olive and he was slightly muscular.

"I'm Randy." The boy suddenly announced and Carlos looked up with wide eyes like a deer caught in headlights. But the boy just smiled and held out his hand. Carlos quickly held out his own hand and gently shook the friendly hand in front of him.

"Carlos Garcia." He answered. The boy smiled even greater and now he noticed the bright blue eyes in front of him and the way they would become smaller as he smiled. He quickly dropped his hand when he realized this seemed weird.

Especially when he found himself noticing the boy's lips. It just seemed odd the way his upper lip seemed so thin while his bottom lip was plump. His jaw looked strong and Carlos couldn't help but smile at how much the boy in front of him looked very young. The dimples in his cheeks didn't help with that and his hairless features didn't seem like they would ever need shaving.

He reminded him of himself. He too was always considered a younger age than he really was. Not that his attitude changed anyone's mind. But he never minded. He liked to stay in touch with his inner child. He just liked having fun. What was wrong with that?

He realized he was way off in his own mind when he suddenly noticed the boy's lips moving. He snapped out of his daze.

"What?" he found himself asking and the boy chuckled slightly.

"I asked if you live here." Randy told him. He looked down in slight embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah, I do. I live here with my friends. We uh, we're in a band." He stumbled and Randy just nodded.

"How long have you been here?"

"About a year and a half, I think." He stated, thinking hard. "Yeah, something like that. So, why are you here?"

"I'm an actor. I just started out, really." He explained. "I just came here today with my older brother, Brad." He pointed to his left side and when Carlos looked up he found a big, muscular jock with blond hair chatting up the girls in the distance.

"So, is he an actor, too?" Carlos asked, slightly glaring when the Jennifers giggled at something the jock said. They never giggled after he said something.

"Uh, no. He's going to be a soccer player, actually. But I couldn't afford to live here by myself and he needed a place to stay." Carlos nodded, vaguely hearing what Randy told him. "Plus, I have to feed of someone around here." He added suddenly.

Carlos turned around in full confusion. "Wait, what?" Again, Randy started laughing and Carlos looked at him like he was crazy.

"Sorry, your face. You're cute when you're confused." He said as he kept laughing. Carlos heard that last bit very clear and his eyes widened as he backed up a little. When Randy stopped laughing, he suddenly noticed how uncomfortable Carlos looked. "What? What's wrong?" He started t move his hand towards him and Carlos couldn't help but jump up.

"Uh, I gotta go. My friends are waiting for me." He said, trying not to show how shocked he was.

"Oh, uh… okay." Randy said, a little confused as to why Carlos was acting like this so suddenly. But he also looked disappointed and Carlos felt guilty.

"I-I'm sorry. Uh, maybe I'll see you later?" He offered slightly nervously and Randy smiled again.

"Yeah, sure. It's a date." He said with a grin. Carlos' eyes widened even more, but he didn't know how to respond, so he just left as fast as he could.

Randy laughed again in the distance as he watched the Latino boy scurry off, looking more embarrassed than ever. He hurried to apartment 2J, hoping to find it empty. When he finally entered his apartment, his friends were unfortunately there as well and they only had to look at his face once to see something had happened. But before they could ask, he shut them all up with a simple:

"Not one word!" They all exchanged looks of confusion as they watched their bubbly friend head upstairs and into their bedroom. As he closed the door behind he, he let his back drop against it.

He tried to catch his breath as he thought about what had happened. Did the new guy just hit on him? That was seriously weird. Girls had never hit on him before. So why did an apparently gay guy do it within the first few minutes of them meeting?

Just his luck. He had waited his whole life to find the girl of his dreams. But instead, the only one interested in him was a guy. Now what was he going to do?

**A/N Yeah, I know. This isn't exactly the kind of story I'd normally write. But I've had this idea in my head for a while now and I am always a sucker for Carlos stories. **

**So another warning here, there may be slash in the future. Don't like it, don't read. But if you do, let me know what you think **

**Love, Baxxie**


	2. Chapter 2 Of dreams and screams

Chapter 2 Of dreams and screams

That night, Carlos had the strangest dream ever.

He dreamt he was walking around Palm Woods, just enjoying the sun and smiling to everyone who came along. They smiled at him too. But suddenly two arms wrapped around him from behind. He felt confused, but not as much as when he found the one and only James Diamond starting to kiss him.

He wanted to slap him, push him away, punch him in his precious face. But in his dream, he had other plans. He just kissed him back passionately. And when he let go, Randy suddenly came along. He grabbed Carlos' hand and entwined their fingers. Carlos himself just smiled and suddenly he was kissing another set of lips. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he looked into the eyes of Kendall.

He didn't understand any of it, but the most confusing of all happened next. He saw Logan walking by the pool with Camille. She kissed him, but Carlos watched him push her away and shake his head. Then, Logan looked in his direction and smiled.

It was like the world flipped over, because within seconds, Logan stood in front of him. He took Carlos in his arms, dipped him and kissed him with so much passion, that Carlos thought fireworks went off. He closed his eyes and enjoyed every minute of it.

He awoke with a scream, sitting up in his bed in shock. The other guys woke up with a start and were in front of him in seconds. That only resulted in him screaming a second time and scrambling from the bed as fast as he could.

"Carlos, what's wrong?" Kendall asked him softly, holding out his hand. But Carlos backed up with wide eyes.

"Get away from me!" He screamed with wild eyes.

"Dude, what is up with you? It's us." James told him, but he backed up when Carlos nearly wacked him. He exchanged a confused look with Logan, who shrugged.

"Carlos, it's us. We're your friends." Logan softly explained with a smile. Carlos gasped.

"And you! You just don't touch me!" he yelled, before quickly backing up and opening the bathroom door. "Just stay away, all of you!" he yelled, getting inside and locking the door.

He could hear his friends outside, concerned voices pleading with him to tell them what was going on. But he just headed over to the sink, turned on the faucet and threw water on his face.

"This isn't happening. Why the hell would I dream something like that?" He mumbled to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror. "What is wrong with you? You're not gay…" He sighed and dropped his head, slapping himself in the face.

"Come on, wake up, wake up!" He mumbled again and closed his eyes for a moment. Again, he suddenly felt those sweet lips on his own and he opened his eyes with another scream. He jumped and tripped, falling into the shower backwards. He grabbed hold of the shower curtain quickly, dragging it down with him.

He breathed heavily as he sat on the shower floor.

"Carlos? Carlos! What happened?" Kendall's voice sounded through the door as his friends pounded hard. He heard the doorknob jiggling.

"Carlos, are you okay? What was that sound?" Logan's concerned voice came in second.

"Oh my god, now I'm losing my mind…" He mumbled again as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"Carlos!" He screamed again that morning when the door busted open with great force. When he looked up he found James red in the face, panting and wearing his helmet. His helmet? When did he forget to put that on?

"Carlos, what the hell is wrong with you? We thought you were dead or something. Didn't you hear us calling you on the other side of the door?" Kendall yelled.

"Yeah, I did, but I…"

"So why didn't you answer?" Kendall exclaimed. "Carlos, why didn't you answer?"

"I… I didn't…" Carlos stammered, until James tried to reach him to pull him up. "Don't touch me!" He said again and James put his hands up in surrender. Carlos grabbed the first weapon he could find and stuck it out to his friends.

"I am not afraid to use… this."

He stopped for a moment when he found the lufa in his hand, but then he held his ground and slowly stood up.

"So, stand back. Back up." He told his friends, who looked at him like he lost his mind and slowly walked around them, until he was back in the bedroom.

"Okay, I am going to get dressed now, so everyone leave. I don't want any of you perverts staring at me!" Kendall stifled a laugh, while James opened his mouth in slight shock and Logan just shook his head.

"I don't know what is going on with you, but we are going to have breakfast now. So when you're doing with…" Logan motioned to him, moving his arms in an awkward motion. "this, come and join us." With that he grabbed both the flabbergasted James and the laughing Kendall and shoved them out the door.

"Did he just call us perverts? He actually thought we'd stare at him getting dressed?" James exclaimed while being shoved away. "Why would we do that? We've already seen him naked like a thousand times before."

When he heard that, Carlos quickly slammed the door behind them and locked it.

"Did he just lock the door again?" Logan asked from behind the door. "Carlos?" He asked with a small knock.

He could hear Kendall laughing hysterically in the distance.

"Kendall, not helping!" Logan yelled at him sternly.

"What's going on?" Katie's sleepy voice suddenly sounded in the background.

"Carlos has officially lost his mind." Kendall explained while laughing. "I thought… I though he couldn't get any weirder and he, he just did…"

"He just woke up screaming and tried to attack us with a lufa!" James exclaimed dramatically.

Carlos could hear Logan sigh. "Carlos just had a bad dream or something. He'll get over it. Let's just have some breakfast."

Carlos walked to his bed and let himself fall backwards on it. He grabbed a pillow and put it over his face, letting out a silent scream.

This could not get any worse…

When he was finally dressed, he carefully opened the door and hoed to walk inside nonchalantly. But when two hands wrapped around him from behind all of a sudden, he couldn't help but let out a wild scream and punched behind him.

The arms let go and a groan was heard behind him. He quickly turned around and winced when he saw James holding his nose.

"Dude!" He exclaimed, while moaning in pain.

"I'm sorry, you startled me." Carlos explained. He flinched when another hand dropped on his shoulder.

"Jesus, lighten up, dude." Kendall chuckled as he patted his arm. Carlos watched as Logan and Mrs. Knight helped out James while he headed for the dinner table. He just grinned nervously and sat down.

"So, what did you dream about?" Katie suddenly asked him. He looked at her while she stared intently, eating her pancakes in the meantime.

"Uh, my dream? I uh…" he stammered nervously. He looked around and found everyone staring at him now. "It as about uh… corndogs. Yeah, corndogs. They were growing and wanted to take revenge on me because I ate their friends." He said with an embarrassed smile. Thank god he had such an avid imagination.

The others just raised their eyebrows.

"Wow, now I know why you went so crazy this morning." Logan said as he shook his head. They all sat down now, with Katie on one side of Carlos and Logan on the other.

They just ate and talked, but Carlos noticed Logan still watching him with some concern every couple of seconds. Carlos just ate in silence, putting on a goofy smile as to make Logan get off his back.

"So, Carlitos… What do you want to do today?" Kendall suddenly asked. Everyone stopped talking to hear his reaction. Carlos was just about to eat a piece of pancake, but he stopped halfway to his mouth.

"Uh, me? What do you mean? Don't you have a date with Jo today?" He asked with some confusion.

"Hey, I don't hang out with Jo every day." Kendall huffed. The others raised their eyebrows. "Okay, so I hang out with her every day. But today I want to spend some time with my buddies. So, what do you want to do?"

Carlos looked around the table for a moment. He started thinking when suddenly the piece of pancake fell off his fork and into his lap.

"Uh, I'd like to…"

"Oh, let me get that for you." Carlos let his fork fall to the table with a loud clatter and jumped up when he felt Logan's hand in his lap. As he jumped up, he accidentally bumped into his plate, knocking over his glass, which ended up all over Logan's plate.

His eyes were wide as he stared at the domino effect he started. When the fork fell down, it fell onto Katie's glass, which fell and resulted in Katie's plate catapulting the remaining pancake on it. Carlos grimaced as he watched it fall through the air and of course landed in James' hair. The boy immediately screamed and brought his hands to his hair dramatically.

"My hair…" He whimpered and then glared at Carlos. Carlos just stood there, still in shock. The others just stared with frowns on their faces.

"Carlos, what was that?" Kendall asked him with a small smirk.

"I uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I'll clean it up right away." He stammered as he quickly ran into the kitchen. He ran so fast, he nearly tripped over his own two feet. He gasped when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Carlos, is everything okay with you?" Logan softly asked him. Carlos looked up and saw his eyes were filled with concern. Carlos smiled softly.

"Yeah, Logie, I'm okay. It's just been a crazy night, you know?" Logan looked hesitant, but smiled anyway.

"Alright. But let me help you clean up. I feel like this was partly my fault anyway." He offered and Carlos grinned nervously. Oh, you have no idea…

Carlos and Logan both returned to the table with wet cloths. Carlos picked up his glass and cleaned up Logan's plate as well. Logan reached over and picked up Katie's glass.

A sudden whiff of something caught Carlos' nose and he couldn't help but close his eyes. What was that? It smelled like cinnamon with chocolate and a hint of mint. He opened his eyes to figure out where the smell was coming from when he noticed Logan's arm was right underneath him. Oh no…

He backed up right away, bumping into his own chair and letting it fall backwards. He couldn't hold on and fell backwards himself, landing on the floor with a thud.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Carlos scrambled to get away from the hand Logan stretched out.

"Ah, don't come any closer." He warned and Logan looked confused again and slightly, hurt? "I, I'm fine. I just… I have to go…" He quickly said, before hurrying to his feet and practically running out the door.

He never made it far as he kept running until he suddenly heard a yelp and ran into something hard. Then, everything faded to black…

**A/N Okay, so not a lot of people seem to like this so far. Maybe it's been confusing? **

**But also, I realize I put the rating too high for what happened so far. So, I have toned it back down to T. It is still about gay people and even though I don't get why, people might get offended. So, T rating is better.**

**Anyway, I hope other people might like this as well. I have no idea where I am going with this yet. There might be slash in the future, but don't ask who with ;)**

**Let me know what you think, because I really love reviews **

**Love, Baxxie**


	3. Chapter 3 Revelations

Chapter 3 Revelations

"Carlos? Carlos, can you hear me?" He heard voices calling him in the distance, but he couldn't tell where they came from. His head was pounding so hard. He vaguely remembered running down the hallway on the second floor and bumping into something.

He groaned as his head started to hurt even more.

"Carlos? I think he's waking up. Carlos, open your eyes." A soft voice coaxed him. He wanted to listen, he really did. Slowly, he tried to do it. "That's it, come on." He groaned again as light started to appear in his sight.

"Welcome back." He looked up to find Logan smiling down at him.

"Logie?" His friend nodded.

"Carlos, are you okay? I am so sorry, I didn't see you." He looked to his left and there was Randy, on the verge of tears. He looked around a little and found himself lying on the floor.

He drew a hand to his head, hissing at the pain. Gently his hand was pulled away.

"What happened?" He croaked. He tried to sit up, but Logan gently pushed him back down. It's a good thing he did, since his vision started to swim right away. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Dizzy?" He heard Logan ask him. He nodded ever so carefully. "James?"

"I got it. Come on, buddy." Suddenly he felt strong arms picking him up from the floor. He felt himself blush as James held him bridal style and carried him away. He opened his eyes for a second time and saw the apartment coming back into view. James carried him in and laid him down on the couch carefully.

Kendall was already standing inside, a small smirk on his face, but he quickly put a pillow under his head.

"Running into a closet. That could only happen to you." He shook his head and Carlos frowned.

"Wha.." He started to ask, but hissed when Logan put something on his head.

"Sorry." He told his friend and Carlos could now tell it was a washcloth in his hand as he went to clean the apparent wound on his head.

"What closet?" he now asked fully as he looked at Kendall again.

"I am really sorry about that. I was carrying a closet with my brother down the hall and I didn't see you. Well, I did, but that was right before you ran into the door headfirst." Randy explained, now also inside the room.

"I don't remember seeing a closet." Carlos mumbled.

"Well, you weren't really looking ahead, I think. But it was so stupid of us to walk down that hallway with a closet anyway. I should have known something like this would happen." Randy said again, obviously very upset.

"With Carlos around, you really should." Carlos tried to whack Kendall for that, but Logan just pressed down on his wound harder, making him flinch.

"Ow!" Logan just sent him a look and he quieted down while Kendall snickered in the background.

"Randy, it's okay. It was just an accident." Logan kindly told the new boy in the room. Carlos frowned. How long had he been out? Logan already knew his name?

"By the way, I'm Kendall." Kendall suddenly announced, holding out his hand to Randy. Randy quickly shook it.

"Randy."

"And I'm James, the good looking one of Big Time Rush." James said with his killer smile. Carlos wanted to throw up at the sight of that. But wait, that was a good thing, right?

James also shook Randy's hand.

"So, where's your brother, by the way? You said he was helping you with that closet." James suddenly mentioned.

"Oh, he carried it further to our apartment." Randy answered.

"By himself?" James exclaimed.

"Yeah, he works out a lot." Randy commented.

"And the girls of the Palm Woods are already in love with him." Carlos decided to put in. James gasped.

"But they can't be. I'm the handsome one of the Palm Woods." He exclaimed.

"Sorry, buddy. Looks like someone took your place." Carlos teased. James shrieked, before practically fleeing the apartment. Carlos just chuckled and Kendall pounded his fist, also laughing. Logan shook his head, but he was smirking.

"So, I'm guessing you're feeling better?" He asked with raised eyebrows. Carlos just grinned. "Good." Logan smiled. "Now you can tell us what the hell is going on."

Carlos' grin faded right away. "Uh, what do you mean?" He nervously asked.

"Carlos, you've been acting weird all morning. First you start screaming for no one to touch you, then at breakfast you freak out suddenly and knock around everything on the breakfast table. And then out of nowhere, you bolt out of the apartment and are apparently so distracted, you run headfirst into a closet." Kendall reminds him. "So, what is going on?"

Carlos gulped and tried to look anywhere but into his friends' eyes. Then he seemed to get an idea as he remembered someone else in the room.

"Hey, Randy? Isn't your brother wondering where you are? Why don't I walk you back to your apartment." He offered and started to sit up, but was pushed down at once. He looked up and pouted when he saw Logan giving him a no-nonsense look.

Randy looked between the three remaining friends and while he was confused, he could feel some tension in the room.

"Uh, thanks for the offer, Carlitos." He said with a smile and rolling the 'r' as best as he could. "But I think I can manage. Maybe I'll see you later?" He asked shyly with a hopeful look in his eyes.

Carlos looked between his friends nervously, before answering. "Uh, yeah, sure." He mumbled.

"Okay, great." Randy said with a big relieved smile. "Well then, I'll just uh, head back. It was nice meeting you all." He said with a small wave, but aimed his eyes mostly towards Carlos. He in return looked down in embarrassment when Randy suddenly sent a quick wink his way, before heading out the door. As he walked out, James came back in, looking red in the face.

The guys looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Don't ask." He told them, before joining his friends near the orange couch.

As soon as the door closed, Carlos looked up at his friends who all had their arms crossed as they stared at him.

He smiled sheepishly. "So, uh, you still want to hang out today?" He asked. But when they all looked disapprovingly, his smile was gone and he looked at his hands.

"Carlos, we're your best friends. You can tell us anything, you know that." Logan told him as he went to sit on the couch next to his friend. When Carlos looked up, all he saw was concern in the mocha colored eyes. Carlos looked down at his hands again, but nodded ever so slightly.

"Come on, buddy. What's on your mind?" Kendall asked as he sat down next to his friend. James sat down on the floor, so soon all three surrounded their young friend and patiently waited for him to speak.

Carlos sighed. "I just… I'm not sure." He quietly told them. "I just had this really crazy dream last night and I guess I got a little freaked out." He admitted.

"Why do I get the feeling that dream wasn't about corndogs trying to chase you?" Kendall asked with a small smirk. Carlos' own mouth twitched as a small smile appeared.

"You didn't buy that, huh?" He asked and the guys chuckled.

"Carlos, we know you. And we know you've had dreams of corndogs before. Even if they did chase you, you still wouldn't mind undressing in front of us all of a sudden." Kendall told him with an amused smile. Carlos' smile was gone again.

He frowned a little. "Do you guys think there's a reason why all girls hate me?" He quietly asked.

The guys exchanged looks.

"Why would you think that?" James asked him this time, a serious look on his face.

"Oh come on, James. I mean, I've never had an actual girlfriend before. Every time I even try to get a date with one, something always goes wrong and they end up walking away."

"Carlos, that doesn't mean they hate you. You just haven't found the right person yet." James added. Carlos looked at him with disbelief in his eyes.

"I'm 17 and have never had a girlfriend before. I think it's safe to say I'm doomed." He said before sighing again and letting his head drop back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

"Look, why don't I help you find someone today, huh?" James offered with a smile. Carlos looked at him once before looking away.

"No thanks."

"Carlos, we…" Kendall started, but Carlos interrupted him.

"Can we please just talk about something else? My head still hurts and honestly, I don't even care about that stuff anymore. From now on, I am done with girls." The guys' eyes widened suddenly and they weren't sure what to say. Carlos suddenly seemed to realize what he said and hissed. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean I'm done chasing girls and having them turn me down. From now on I just want to hang out with my friends and give up on finding a girlfriend."

"Carlos…" James started, but again Carlos cut him off.

"I've made up my mind, so enough. Let's talk about what we're gonna do today. Who's up for some videogames?" The guys quickly exchanged worried glances. But they slowly gave Carlos a smile.

"Alright buddy. It's your call." Kendall told him and Carlos beamed.

Thankfully they bought his story. He didn't really lie to them, he really was sick of the way he was shot down by all girls. And it did eat at him. But he couldn't tell them why he had freaked out so much. So he needed to think of something else to tell them, to get them off his back.

Not that he took away their worries though, but if he told them what he was really feeling… But that was just one dream, right? It wasn't like he turned gay all of a sudden. He didn't have feelings for the guys, he just had a weird dream.

It was probably because of the way Randy had treated him. Sure, he wasn't exactly the king of love, but he recognized the signals the boy was sending him. It certainly didn't help clear his head.

How did everything get so screwed up in one moment?

**A/N Thanks guys first of all for your support. It's great to see there are more people who like reading this story. If there are things you'd like for me to change, just let me know. I love feedback **

**Also, on another note: if you have a favorite pairing in mind for Carlos in this story, let me know. I seriously can't decide at the moment, so it would greatly help if you let me know what you prefer. Whichever pairing receives the most votes will end up together later on **

**Thanks again, you have given me a new drive to continue with this story. I'll try to update everything this weekend again. Hopefully the new episode will give me some new inspiration for my other stories as well. Paralyzed!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	4. Chapter 4 Drowning in your eyes

Chapter 4 Drowning in your eyes…

Two days after the 'incident', Carlos found himself lounging by the pool, alone again. He watched with some sadness as his friends hung out with their girls. That one day they spent together was nice. He thought the guys finally noticed he was lonely and actually wanted to hang out more. But the day after, everyone split up as soon as they could.

He watched with a disgusted grimace at Logan sucking face with Camille in one of the opened up cabanas, while Kendall and Jo enjoyed a girly romantic lunch and James was flirting with every girl present. Carlos did feel some happiness though. He had been able to put the strange thoughts out of his mind and didn't dream of kissing his friends anymore either. He convinced himself that maybe it was just a phase. Everyone went through those, right? Where you get curious about what it would be like with guys?

Unfortunately, no longer having the thoughts didn't make him feel less lonely. He sighed dramatically once more as he let his head fall back into the pillow of his lounge chair. He put his hand on his helmet and dropped it further over his eyes, wishing to disappear. But to his luck, someone didn't agree.

"Hey. Nice helmet." An unknown male voice rings in his ears. He slightly pushes the helmet up to glare to the person disturbing him in his misery. But the moment he recognized the blonde shining his teeth at him, he softened his look and sat up a little. "You must be Carlos. I'm Brad." The boy held out his hand and Carlos stared at it with apprehension. "I think you met my brother, Randy? I believe you ran into our closet the other day. That was quite a hit you took, man. How's your head?"

He stared at the blonde and slowly moved up his hand to shake the one in front of him.

"It's fine. I can take a hit." He slowly responded. His mind was going haywire. He always agreed that James was attractive, for a guy at least. But this guy? Wow.

"Is that why you wear the helmet?" Brad asked, pointing to the shiny protective gear on his head.

"Oh this? I, uh, I guess so. I like to do stunts and stuff. This keeps me from bashing my head in." He laughed nervously, wiping his now clammy hands on his pants. Brad laughed right with him and Carlos was intrigued.

"Randy felt so bad about what happened. I almost used duck tape to shut his mouth. He couldn't stop talking about you." Brad says with a small chuckle and a shake of his head. "I've never seen him get so worked up about anything. He's got it bad for you, man."

And that was when the world slowed down. He had already suspected it. But Brad confirming it just made it real. Randy really did like him. He was gay and had a crush on him.

"Are you okay, man? You look a little pale." Brad suddenly asked him. He looked up, while trying to slow down his racing heart. Then, Brad seemed to realize what he said and his face changed. "Oh no… Randy is going to kill me. I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Carlos just gave a small smile, but anyone could see how fake it was. It was loaded with shock and confusion.

"Don't worry about it." He let out eventually, but Brad didn't look convinced. He looked guilty and apologetic.

"Hey guys." Randy's cheerful voice suddenly appeared in front of them. Carlos looked up with wide eyes, while Brad eyed Carlos and tried to avoid his brother's gaze. "Is something wrong?" Randy asked when the two kept staring at him. He frowned.

"No, no, everything's fine." Brad immediately said, but the way Carlos stared at Randy kept Randy suspicious. He suddenly looked at his brother with a questioning look and Brad quickly got up from the chair. "I uh, better go, I have a date with uh… a girl. So, I'll just… yeah, bye." He rushed out awkwardly, leaving Randy to stare after him in confusion.

He turned his attention back to Carlos, who was now looking at his hands while playing with the strands of his helmet. Randy slowly sat down and sent a smile towards the Latino, which he quickly returned before looking away again.

"So uh, how's your head?" Randy asked to break the silence.

"It's fine." Came Carlos' short reply. Silence again.

"Cool helmet by the way." Randy mentioned with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Maybe you should have worn it when you ran into our closet. Would have saved you the headache." Randy chuckles nervously, but it dies down when Carlos doesn't laugh along.

Many thoughts go through Carlos' mind. Did he really like him like that? Was that the truth or just a suspicion Brad had? No, he said Randy would kill him for telling. Meaning he confessed about his feelings, right?

He turned his head towards the teenage boy. He noticed how the sun radiated on his olive skin. The slightly toned muscles on his arms were visible as he nervously gripped the cushion of the chair. His lips looked so soft and… whoa… Where did that come from?

Suddenly all his feelings came back in full force. His heart started to race as he started to sweat. He gulped as he felt some slight panic, while his stomach started to do summer salts. His eyes went wide and the world started to turn faster.

"Carlos? Are you okay?" Randy's concerned voice boomed somewhere in his mind. "Carlos?" Randy moved forward suddenly, making Carlos jump up. Or at least he tried to. But unfortunately his leg got caught up in a towel lying on the ground, making him trip and fall back unto another chair.

Randy frowned with worry. "Are you okay? Here, grab my hand." He held out his hand, but Carlos quickly backed up.

"No, get away from me." He almost shouts in a scared voice. Other residents of Palm Woods started to notice the commotion and looked over, including three friends. They quickly exchanged glances and without a word all knew who was involved. They rushed over and were just in time to see Randy trying to help Carlos up, while their Latino friend shouted for him not to touch him. They almost winced at the hurt look flashing across the new boy's eyes.

Carlos lay on the ground as he argued with himself on what to do. He too had noticed the look of pain crossing Randy's features when he told him not to touch him. He suddenly realized how that came across.

"Randy…" He started, but the boy shook his head.

"No, it's fine. It's not the first time guys have said that to me." Randy said, his voice full of pain. Carlos closed his eyes as he felt the guilt and stupidity hit him. "I guess I just thought you weren't like that, you know. I thought maybe you were different." Randy rambled as he started to back up and turn around. Carlos scrambled to his feet.

"Randy, I…" He started, but Randy suddenly turned around again.

"You know, just because I'm gay it doesn't mean I'm hitting on a guy when I'm talking to him or touching him. I was trying to help you up. And yeah, maybe it is my luck that I always fall for the straight guys. But I really thought we could be friends, you know…" Randy kept on rambling and Carlos panicked. When he finally opened up his mouth, he blurted out something he didn't even know was on his mind:

"Will you go out with me?" In a second, the entire Palm Woods got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Carlos' and Randy's eyes both went wide as they stared at each other.

"What did you say?" Randy nearly whispered as he stepped closer to Carlos. Carlos' eyes darted around the crowd, searching for familiar eyes. But once he did, he wished he didn't. Three pairs of eyes are full of shock and even a hint of anger as they watch him.

"I uh…" He stammered, but nerves hit him again and he didn't know what possessed him to ask that question.

"Did you just ask me out on a date?" Randy asked, his voice still sounding so uncertain. Carlos almost felt bad for him. Which was why he suddenly felt the confidence to keep going. He stepped closer and put on a smile.

"Yes, yes I did." He said and waited for a reaction. "Well?"

"Yes. Yes, I'll go out with you!" He smiled bigger when Randy smiled, giggled almost. But he wasn't prepared for the boy to leap up and kiss him full on the lips. The gasps around him told him that neither did anyone else. But he didn't push him away. Instead, he wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed him back with passion.

"Carlos?" he frowned into the kiss. "Come on buddy…"

What the? Where was that voice coming from? It sounded so far away, but right next to him.

"Come on, man. Don't do this…"

"Come on, Carlitos…"

More voices. But those lips were so warm. He never wanted to let go. But suddenly, he felt his lungs begging for air. He had to let go, he needed air. Needed it so badly… He reluctantly pushed Randy's lips away and tried to suck in the air. But it wouldn't come to him.

"Carlos? Carlos!"

"'Litos, please…"

Randy in turn just grabbed his face and started to kiss him once again. He wanted to push him away, but suddenly he noticed the air coming with it. So he quickly welcomed the lips and kissed them back with need.

Suddenly things seemed to become clearer and as the air returned to his lungs, Carlos opened his eyes. He frowned when his vision was blurry. He blinked quickly and tried to move. But he was confused when he noticed the sky clear above him. It was then that he felt the ground underneath him. He started to feel cold. But those lips, they were still keeping him warm. He wanted the moment to last, but he felt a sudden need to cough and gasp, like he hadn't had any air in a while.

A hand made it's way to his back to rub it soothingly as he coughed and rolled onto his side. When he finally rolled back, his vision became clearer and he was confused. His friends surrounded him and looked completely distraught, despite the small smiles they gave him. He felt even more confused when he saw they had been crying. Kendall looked especially pale and shaking so hard that James needed to hold him to keep him from falling over.

He looked around more and found the entire of Palm Woods standing at a distance, staring at him. Everyone looked so upset, but also relieved right now. Some smiled at him, even the Jennifers. He gave a small smile back, despite still not understanding what happened.

"God, I thought we lost you. Welcome back, buddy…" Logan suddenly told him. He looked to his right and showed another frown.

"Wha happened?" He asked again, almost whispering. His throat hurt as he swallowed and his voice sounded horse.

"You don't remember?" Logan asked him. He carefully shook his head. "Well, uh, you were talking to Randy when you jumped up and tried to run off or something. But you tripped and fell backwards into the pool. You must have hit your head or something, because you didn't come up right away. And Randy, well, he ust jumped in after you and pulled you out. You weren't breathing, 'Los. I've… I've never been so scared before…" Logan's voice trailed off and Carlos could see the tears welling up again. "Randy just took charge and started to do CPR. God, I nearly lost it…If it weren't for him acting so fast…"

Carlos noticed Logan looking at someone else. He turned his head in the same direction and found Randy. He was blushing and smiling shyly while Logan praised him. He suddenly turned to look at Carlos and his smile faltered.

It suddenly hit Carlos. He could still feel the warmth of those lips on his. He had given him mouth-to-mouth. So Carlos never asked him out and Randy never kissed him. At least, it wasn't meant as a kiss. But Carlos had still kissed him back.

Oh god, he had kissed him back. The realization dawned on him and as he stared into Randy's eyes, he saw it. Randy knew as well. It really happened. They kissed. Knowingly or intentionally or not, they kissed. Did anyone else see?

His body trembled and he suddenly felt the cold take over.

"Guys, the paramedics are here." Camille's voice announced. Carlos shot Logan a look.

"Hey, you nearly drowned, Carlos. It's just a precaution." Logan immediately argued, knowing exactly what his young friend was thinking.

Carlos turned his attention back to Randy as the world slightly faded again. He felt the paramedics starting to lift him unto a stretcher. As they did, he saw Logan put a towel around Randy's shoulders. They started to wheel him off, but he grabbed Randy's wrist suddenly.

"You saved me…" He softly said. That wasn't what he wanted to say, they both knew it. Randy just gazed into his eyes.

"I'd do it again…" Randy responded softly.

"Thank you…" Carlos told him in a whisper. Randy nodded with a small smile. Logan walked with him as he started to be wheeled away to the awaiting ambulance. The others followed slowly behind them as they rode through the lobby and through the front doors.

Carlos' gaze lingered on Randy, who stood by himself in a slight trance. But James, who squeezed his shoulder in praise, quickly joined him. His tall friend still held a trembling Kendall with his other arm. The blonde still looked very pale and shook like a leaf. Carlos frowned when he saw how scared he looked. A look he had never seen in the leader's eyes. It was accompanied by something else, but Carlos couldn't figure out what it was. He didn't have any more time to find out when he was lifted into the ambulance and the doors were shut.

**A/N Sorry for the huge delay guys! Like I mentioned somewhere else, I've been stuck for a while. And BTR has been distracting me a lot with all they're news, videos and tweets… So much has been happening and doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Hate them :P**

**Plus, school is stressing me out. But I'm trying. Listening to Elevate right now I'm allowed, it's already the 21****st**** in The Netherlands ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you still like this story. And what did you think of this chapter? I'm hoping it's not too confusing. If it is, let me know if I should change it.**

**I've already been giving small hints as to whom Carlos will end up with. Can you guess it? **

**Let me know what you think of the new chapter and again; if you have any requests for something to happen in this story, let me know **

**Love, Baxxie**


	5. Chapter 5 Open up your eyes

Chapter 5 Open up your eyes…

Carlos slowly opened his eyes. He blinked and slightly panicked when he didn't immediately recognize his surroundings. He tried to get up, but a pair of hands gently pushed him back down.

"Hey, it's okay. Calm down. You're in the hospital, remember?" Carlos looked to his left and found James staring at him with a small smile. He lay back down and looked to his right. He became confused when he saw Kendall lying in a chair beside his bed, fast asleep in a very uncomfortable looking position. James must have seen him stare, because he started to chuckle.

"He's been in that chair since we got here. Didn't want to leave your side." James told him with a warm smile. "I'll go get Logan, let him know you woke up." He patted his friend's shoulder and Carlos nodded.

He looked at Kendall again with a confused expression. A hand was still lying on his sheets, indicating that his friend had been holding his hand. He slowly moves his hand closer to his and slightly brushed it, when the blond suddenly jerked awake.

"What, I'm up, I'm up…" Carlos chuckled slightly at the blonde's hair sticking up in all directions as he looked around. His eyes finally landed on Carlos and a big smile appeared right away. "hey, you're awake."

"Yeah…" Carlos quietly told him. "So James told me you've been in that chair for a while." He said with a curious smile.

"Oh, yeah. I uh, I didn't want you to be alone when you woke up. I know you sometimes panic when you wake up in the hospital." Kendall said with a sheepish smile. Carlos raised his eyebrows slightly. "I'm glad you're awake, buddy. Things get boring pretty fast without you." Carlos just smiled when his friend ruffled his hair.

"Hey, look who's finally up." Logan suddenly announced as he walked into the room. He also gave the teen a warm smile as he stood beside him. Carlos raised his eyebrows when Logan put a hand to his forehead. "No fever, that's good. How do you feel?"

"A little tired, I guess." He replied with a shrug. "But I guess that's normal after nearly drowning, right?" He asked with a playful smile. He meant it as a joke, but the other guys immediately stop smiling. "Guys, it's just a joke." They just exchanged looks. "Too early?" He guiltily asked.

"Just a little." James agreed with a grin as all three were now sitting down. James in the second chair and Logan on his bed.

"How long have I been out?" He asked after yawning loudly.

"A few hours." Logan told him, but Carlos could see he was hiding something.

"Logan…"

"Alright, about twelve hours." He added. Carlos' eyes widen.

"Twelve hours? Seriously? And I still feel tired?" Carlos asked right away. Logan chuckled slightly.

"Look, it's normal to feel tired after this. And with all the stressing you've been doing lately, It's your body's natural way of recharging." Logan explained. Carlos' stares at him with some confusion. "You're wondering how I know about you stressing?" Carlos shot him a look. "We're practically brothers, Carlos. You don't have to say anything for us to know when you're stressed or worried."

Carlos gave a small smile and looked at his hands.

"Carlos, what is it?" Kendall asked him quietly. Carlos shrugged, but froze when he felt Kendall's hand touching his. He looked up slowly and gulped as he looked into his friend's concerned green orbs.

"It's nothing. You're right, I'm just a little stressed." Carlos told him and looked down again.

"hey, no, that's not all. Just tell us, buddy." Kendall told him. Carlos looked at his friends and they all gave him expecting looks.

"Look, you guys don't have to stay here. You should go see your girlfriends. They must be missing you." Carlos told them with a smile.

James furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about, dude? Last I checked I don't have a girlfriend and Jo and Camille are just as worried about you. You really think we would just leave you here?"

Carlos didn't respond.

"Carlos, why would you think that? You're so much more important to us than them." Carlos still didn't respond. Logan put a finger under his chin and lifted it up towards him. Carlos' breath hitched when he felt his hand underneath his face and tried not to gasp. "Carlos, talk to us. Tell us what's bothering you."

Inside he started to panic. Maybe he should just tell them. Maybe they wouldn't treat him differently. Maybe they would just accept it. But wait, accept what? He didn't know if he was gay yet.

"Carlitos? Hello?" James snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Huh?" Carlos said in a slight daze.

"What's going on in that mind of yours? It must be a lot for you to get so far away." James said with a small chuckle.

"Oh, yeah." Carlos replied softly. Again, Logan exchanged a look of concern with his friends. But Kendall suddenly looked guilty.

"Guys, I think I know what's wrong." Carlos eyes widened, but he managed to hide it from his friends.

"You, you do?" He asked nervously.

"yeah. It's okay, buddy. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, everyone feels like that one time in their lives. I know I have." Carlos was shocked at the blonde's words.

"You have?" He asked. Kendall nodded.

"Of course. But it's always better just to talk about it." He offered. Carlos looked down again.

"Yeah, I know. I just… I thought you wouldn't understand. Or that you'd be mad at me…" He said, avoiding their gazes.

"Carlos…" Kendall sighed. "We would never be mad at you. I mean, we haven't exactly been helping with your feelings, have we?"

Carlos smiled slightly. "Not really, no."

"I'm sorry, buddy. Next time you feel lonely, just tell us, okay?" Kendall told him. It took him a moment to realize just what Kendall said.

"Wait, what?" He asked with some confusion.

"well, that's what you're so upset about, right? I mean, we haven't been spending a lot of time with you lately, I know. And I'm sorry, okay? I promise from now on I'll… we'll make it up to you." Kendall promised with a smile. The others nodded in agreement.

"I don't…" Carlos started, but was interrupted by his door opening.

"Welcome back, sleeping beauty!" Randy announced cheerfully as he held up a Spongebob helium balloon with the words Get well, soon. Carlos looked down right away, desperate not to show his friends how much he was blushing. "I heard you like Spongebob, so I got you this. But I also got you something else…" Carlos looked up and felt his face grow eve hotter at the purple teddy bear in Randy's hands. In it's little paws was a small heart with the words 'I wuv you'.

"Wow, um… Thank you. You didn't have to do that." Carlos said with an embarrassed smile, taking the teddy bear from the teen's hands.

He hoped his friends would say something, anything to make Randy go away right now. Ut of course, they thought he was upset because he was lonely. Did they even notice how much the other teen was flirting with him? If they were actually paying attention to him, they would have noticed how uncomfortable he was. They would have tried to save him. They never even realized what the reason was he almost drowned.

Come on… Just say something.

"Well, uh…" Yes. Thank you, James. "Why don't we go get some food and let you two to talk." Wait, what? No… Talk about what?

"Kendall…" He asked, grabbing his friend's arm quickly, his eyes shooting a desperate plea.

"Don't worry, Carlitos. We'll bring you something." He said with a warm smile, ruffling the short black hair again. Carlos tried to stop him, but suddenly the door closed and there they were. Alone.

"So uh…" Randy started, looking a little lost as he sat down in one of the chairs. "How are you feeling?" He quietly asked, concern evident in his caring eyes.

"I'm okay. Thanks to you." Carlos replied, fiddling with the sheets in his hands. Randy blushed slightly.

"Oh no… I hardly did anything…" He started, looking down himself.

"No, Randy. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here right now. So, seriously, thank you." Carlos told him, a real smile of gratitude present now.

Randy smiled back, still blushing a little.

"Well, I just did what anyone would have done. I mean, you know. I saw you fall into the water and then you didn't come up… I felt so scared. But I had to do something… It's really no big deal…" He waved it away again.

"Randy… It's a big deal to me. Just accept that I'm grateful and that I owe you one." Carlos told him.

"No, Carlos, you don't owe me anything. I mean, I…" Randy started again, but Carlos interrupted him.

"Randy. Just accept it. I'm not taking no for an answer." Carlos offered with a big smile.

Randy sighed. "Okay then." And then Carlos did something that came so natural to him, he didn't even realize he did it. He pulled the teen into a tight hug.

It wasn't until the teen froze into his arms that he even comprehended what he was doing. He himself froze as his eyes went wide. He quickly let go of the boy and smiled nervously. Randy didn't smile back. He just stared into his deep brown eyes, searching for something.

Carlos stared back and suddenly noticed how they were inching closer together every second. Again, he didn't notice, until they were mere inches apart. Randy got ready to close his eyes as he moved even closer and tilted his head. Carlos's eyes widened and he quickly pulled away, making Randy touch nothing but air.

When he opened his eyes, a flash of hurt came across his features. But he smiles right after, pushing it away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't… Sorry…" He said and the air grew a little thicker. Carlos' couldn't say anything in return. His heart was about to burst right out of his chest. They were about to kiss… Holy crap… "I guess I just thought…" Carlos looked up at him. "Never mind…" Randy looked away.

"No, what?" carlos asked, not sure why he did.

"I just… You weren't breathing when I pulled you out of the water. So I started CPR. There was a moment where I could have sworn I felt you kiss me. That was right before you coughed up the water. You opened your eyes and I really thought you knew. I know, it was stupid. I mean, you nearly drowned. Of course you didn't know what you were doing. Why would you kiss me? You probably weren't even aware of it…" Randy rambled. Carlos' thoughts raced at Randy's honesty. He felt he had to return it.

"I was…" He quietly said. Randy stopped rambling and blinked at him.

"What did you say?"

"I said I was." Carlos repeated, looking him in the eyes. "I mean, I thought I was… I was dreaming about some stuff and I felt it… I didn't know, but I knew it was real, you know?" Randy tilted his head slightly.

"Maybe I should call a doctor…" he started and went to get up. But Carlos quickly grabbed his hand.

"I'm sorry, that was confusing. I just…" He sighed. "Please sit down…" he asked, sending his puppy dog eyes for help. Randy put on an amused smile and sat back down. "Okay, look… I… I did kiss you…" Randy froze again. "I don't remember falling into the pool. I was having some sort of weird dream. I've been having lots of weird dreams lately. I just don't understand what's going on anymore…" He said, getting more and moreupset by the minute.

"Carlos…" A hand on his arm made him look up. Randy smiled in understanding. "It's okay. I get it. You're not ready for this. You're still confused, trying to figure things out. I understand that. I've gone through the same thing."

"R-really?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's okay. It's completely normal to feel like this. Have you told your friends?" Carlos looked down again. "I'll take that as a no then." He chuckled. "Look, if I learned one thing from finding out I was gay, was telling the people closest to me. You shouldn't go through this alone. And I know what you're thinking. You think they won't understand, that they won't accept you. But I've seen you together. They care about you, Carlos. They're not going to push you away. Just tell them. You'll see, things will be a lot easier with someone supporting you."

Carlos blinked. He didn't expect it to go this easy. Cheerful voices could be heard down the hall.

"Well, here's your chance to tell them. But Carlos?" Carlos looked at the teen. "Whatever happens, I'll be right here, okay?" Carlos sat looking at him dumbfounded. He slowly nodded as Randy affectionately squeezed his hand.

Carlos wasn't sure what just happened and he wasn't sure what was about to. This still had to be some sort of dream. It was too good to be true.

His friends came in laughing with their hands filled with food. They said goodbye to Randy as he passed them and sat around their Latino friend again.

Moment of truth…

**A/N Sorry guys for not updating for so long! I've been really busy. I know this story is not liked as much as my others. Especially because it's very different from those. But I hope there are still people who like reading this. If you do have any comments, suggestions, criticism, let me know I want to improve.**

**Anyway, thank you to the few people reviewing and reading this story, you keep me going **

**I'll try to update again soon, but I am very busy with school, so I'm sorry if it takes another while. Let me know what you think and until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	6. Chapter 6 Realizations

Chapter 6 Realizations…

The guys are eyed Carlos with warm smiles as he nervously stared at them.

"Is something wrong, Carlitos?" Logan asked him. He gulped and opened his mouth, but nothing would come out.

His friends exchanged glances and frowned a little.

"What is it, buddy? You look really nervous about something." Kendall told him. Carlos looked at his bed sheets and took a deep breath.

"Uh, I uh… I want to tell you that I…" He trailed off as his friends stared at him in anticipation.

"That you what?" James asked.

"That I…" He kept stammering as he felt beads of sweat forming on his brow. "I uh…" Come on, Carlos, it's now or never. "I wanted to tell you that I'm g…grateful to have you guys as friends."

He wanted to slap himself upside the head for chickening out like that. Why didn't he just say it?

"Well, we're grateful to have you as our friend, too, buddy." James told him before ruffling his short hair. Carlos put on a fake smile as his three best friends proceeded to pull him into a group hug.

Yeah, what a good friend he was, lying to their faces like that… But honestly, did he really lie? He was grateful for them, he owed them a lot. But he did keep a huge secret from them. Didn't he?

He still felt very confused. He thought back of the conversation he had with Randy and realized that he never fully admitted to being gay. That was something the other boy drew out of it. Yeah, he kissed him back. But he wasn't even aware of it. He didn't know what he was doing, he didn't control it. Just like in that first dream where his best friends kissed him. He knew they were all straight, so why would one kiss make him gay?

Okay, so he stared at Randy and felt himself blushing whenever the boy flirted with him. But he didn't have a lot of experience with any type of relationship, so this could still all count as experimenting, right? He was just exploring his options. Yeah, that's what it was. He wasn't gay, he was just experimenting and going through a phase.

He smiled as he convinced himself of this and spent the right of his time in the hospital having fun with his friends. Since he rapidly improved since he woke up, Carlos was released from the white walls building after two days. He rolled his eyes when they brought in a wheelchair to take him home, but he smiled all the way when James started to race it outside.

He erased his mind of all the weird thoughts he had been having lately and just enjoyed being smothered with attention from his three brothers, little sister and his second mom. That kept him sane while not being allowed to go outside for a few more days until he was fully rested up. He took full advantage of everyone waiting on him hand and foot, which they were all fully aware of. But since they were convinced his strange behavior was caused by him feeling lonely, they gave in.

He also loved all the get well cards and flowers and such all the other Palm Woods residents sent him, but told everyone he didn't want to see any of them n person. That included Randy. He just wanted to spend all his time with his family, with fear of them leaving him alone again by the time he was better.

He listened to them as they turned down another concerned guest at the door yet again. For four days this had been going on now and even though he refused to acknowledge it, he knew it was wearing everyone down. They kept up their smiles as they joined him to watch a movie on the couch. But he noticed how down they seemed to become. He especially noticed how much Logan sighed whenever Camille called or came over and he turned her down. James was starting to freak out and had suddenly bought four bottles of Mangerine spray. Katie started to yell at her computer friends, while Mrs. Knight read the same book over and over and then locked herself in her room to at least get some time to herself.

The only person who didn't seem to fake his caring nature, was Kendall. Carlos curiously watched as he effortlessly fluffed Carlos' pillow and changed the TV channel to cartoons.

The others soon joined them, but they seemed restless. Katie was growling under her breath, yelling at the Spongebob for being an idiot. Logan yelled also, but he just didn't think the storylines were plausible at all. Mrs. Knight bit her nails, while going around the apartment every few seconds to find out if there was any dust she needed to clean up. James just sat on the couch, shifting around nervously and his eyes darting from the window, displaying a ray of sunshine, to an unopened bottle of Mangerine on the coffee table.

Carlos eyed them all, before letting out a sigh of frustration.

"Okay, that's it." He announced and everyone turned their attention to him. "I can't take this anymore. Just go outside, guys. Get out of the apartment." He said, not even looking at them. They just blinked in slight shock.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Knight asked with a nervous laugh. Carlos rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion.

"Oh come on, guys. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I know you're craving to go out. So just go." He said and looked at his hands.

"Are you sure? I mean, we can…" Logan asked, while already getting up little by little.

"Yeah, yeah, just go. I'll be fine." The Latino answered, waving them off. He sighed as he heard the four scrambling to get to the door, nearly falling over in the process. He chuckled slightly when he heard James yell out in glee, while running down the hall. Then, the apartment was huddled in silence.

Carlos sighed again and finally looked up. He nearly jumped when he noticed Kendall still sitting there, laughing silently at Spongebob's antics.

"Uh, Kendall?" he asked curiously.

"Hm?" The blond asked, while keeping his eyes on the screen.

"Aren't you going to head out? I mean, I know you must really be missing Jo." He told his friend.

"No, she understands." Kendall absentmindedly told him. Carlos frowned.

"That's not what I said. I said, you must miss her. Don't you want to see her?" Carlos asks, shifting his position on the couch so that he is facing Kendall.

"Nah, I'm good. We were spending too much time together anyway. Plus, this gives me the chance to spend some time with my favorite buddy." Kendall says as he suddenly rubs Carlos' knee and then faces towards the TV again. Carlos sits dumbfounded for a moment, before shrugging and also facing towards the screen.

He enjoys his time with the blond, playing video games, watching a movie. But he can't help but think of his girlfriend and how much she must be missing him. Sure, Kendall said she understood, but was that really true? He couldn't imagine Kendall really wanting to spend every moment with him, when he was all over Jo before, spending all hours with her. He decided to find out.

After the movie ended, Kendall got up and headed for the phone. "Why don't we order some pizza?" He asked.

"Uh, sure. I'm just going to get something from my room real quick." Carlos told him as he hurried off, before Kendall could say anything. He took out his cell phone, clicked away all the missed calls and texts from his Palm Woods friends and searched his contact list. He smiled when he saw the name and quickly hit dial. He listened for any sign of Kendall being near while listening to the phone ringing.

"_Hello?"_

"Jo?" He asked after hearing the female voice.

"_Carlos?" _She asked in shock. _"Oh my god, how are you?" _

"I'm good, Jo. Listen, I have to ask you something; when did you last see Kendall?" He asked quickly, while still checking the hallway.

"_Oh, wow. I mean, it's been a while. I tried to talk to him and to go out together, but he said that you weren't doing well and that you needed him."_ She told him. He froze after hearing that, not sure on how to respond. Why would he lie like that? _"Carlos? Are you still there?"_

He snapped out of his trance. "Yeah, uh, look… Don't tell Kendall I told you this, but he really misses you and wants to see you. Could you over to the apartment?"

"_But, what about you? I mean, if you're still not feeling well, then…"  
><em>

"Trust me, Jo, I'm fine. I think he's just overreacting. And I would feel even better if you two got back together. I mean, you're a great couple and I don't want to come between you like this." He explained to her.

"_Aw, Carlos… You're not coming between us. I know he's just worried about you. I mean, after what happened at the pool… I've never seen him so upset."_ She told him. He sighed.

"Well, I just want you guys to be glued together again, you know. This just doesn't seem right. So, will you come over?" He asked her in a pleading tone.

"_Okay, Carlos. I'll come over."_ She told him. He could hear she was smiling, which brought a smile to his own features.

"Carlos? The pizza will be here in 20 minutes." Kendall suddenly yells upstairs.

"Oh, I gotta go." Carlos whispered to the girl and hung up before hearing her response, when Kendall suddenly popped his head into their bedroom.

"What are you doing in here? Come on, the pizza will be here in 20 minutes." He told the boy and headed back downstairs, Carlos quickly following.

They sat back on the couch. Kendall turned on The Walking Dead and leaned back to enjoy it. Carlos tried to do the same, but he couldn't help stare at the door every few seconds with a happy smile on his face. He was excited. Kendall had been great to him, he just wanted to return the favor.

"You know, staring at the door won't make the pizza come faster." Kendall suddenly announced. Carlos looked at him in surprise. The blond chuckled and ruffled his hair. "You're such a goofball."

But then, a knock on the door make them both look up. Carlos could hardly hide his smile of excitement, while Kendall just frowned and looked at Carlos in slight fear. He opened his mouth to say something, but got up and hesitatingly walked towards the door. He slowly started to peak through their peephole and then stepped back. He opened the door in confusion.

"Jo?" The girl immediately latched herself on to him with a squeal. He was struck with surprise. "What are you doing here?" He asked her, while looking towards Carlos for the answer. He just shrugged in response.

"Well, we haven't seen each other in a while. I just though I'd surprise you and come over for an indoor date." She told him with a big smile after letting go.

Kendall looked even more surprised and then glanced over to Carlos.

"Oh, well uh… I'm afraid I can't, I mean Carlos…" He started, when Carlos got up and walked over.

"Actually, it was my idea. I called Jo and invited her over." Kendall looked at him in shock. "Dude, she's your girlfriend. I know you've been missing her like crazy. Plus, you've been such a good friend these last few days, I thought I'd repay the favor." He explained.

"Carlos… I…" Kendall started, but the Latino held up a hand.

"No need to thank me, Kendall. You're welcome. You two just have fun. I am going to down to the pool and take in some well needed Vitamin D." He said with a smile, before heading out into the hallway.

"But what about the pizza?" Kendall called out after him.

"Share it with Jo. I'll go get a corndog." He called back, his mouth already watering for the treat he had been craving for so long. He just smiled to himself while heading out. He didn't look back, which was how he missed the look of worry and disappointment on Kendall's face when he had to close the door and put on a huge smile before turning back to his girlfriend. Would she realize it was fake?

Carlos headed outside with a smile, ignoring all the curious looks and whispers sent his way. He did notice however when Randy nearly bumped into him.

"Carlos, is that you?" He asked and smiled, but seemed worried. "Are you okay? I mean, do you need to sit down?" he asked and Carlos chuckled.

"I'm fine, Randy. In fact, I've never felt better." He answered with a big smile. Randy didn't look convinced, but he smiled nonetheless. Then he looked around if anyone else was around, before turning back towards Carlos.

"Well, I'm glad to see you. I tried to call you, but I guess you were resting, so I didn't push. So uh, how are you?" Randy asked him nervously and Carlos eyed him curiously.

"Again, I'm fine, Randy. I just said that." He told him with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

"No, I don't mean your health, I mean that thing we talked about in the hospital." Randy mentioned.

"What thing?" Carlos asked as he tried to walk further, but Randy stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"You know what I mean. Did you tell them?" Randy asked. Carlos stopped smiling and looked back at him.

"I uh…" He looked down. "No, I didn't tell them." He said, while Randy frowned.

"Why not?" he asked him.

"Because it's not true. I mean, I thought it was, but it's not. I was just curious and experimenting, like everyone does once in his or her life. It doesn't mean I'm suddenly into guys now." Carlos explained with a huff and a chuckle. "If that's how it worked, I'm pretty sure everyone would be gay now." He said, ignoring the hurt look on Randy's face. "Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to soak up some sunlight."

He walked away, his smile fading fast. He looked back one more time, but shrugged off the feeling of guilt at seeing Randy look down suddenly. This was for the best.

He just headed for one of the four lounge chairs by the pool and sunk into the one next to his friend James. James had his sunglasses on and ear buds in as he listened to music and flirted with girls passing by. His head as turned away just as Carlos sat down, that he nearly fell from the chair when he saw his best friend next to him. He took off his sunglasses and looked around.

"Carlos, what… what are you doing out here? Where's Kendall?" He asked. Carlos just smiled and shrugged.

"I invited Jo to come over. They're having a date in our apartment as we speak." He said smugly. James frowned and looked up towards the 2J windows, before shrugging and smirking.

"Alright." He said, before putting his sunglasses back on. A peaceful silence washes over them, and a sigh of content is heard from Carlos. "Happy to be back outside?" James asks him.

"Mhm." Carlos answers.

"Must be weird though. Lying in front of the pool you almost drowned in." James suddenly mentions with a chuckle. Straight after he gasps and eyes the very surprised Carlos next to him. "I don't even… I don't know why I said that… I just…" He stammered, when Carlos started to laugh.

"It's okay, James. I don't even remember, so it's fine, really." James stared at Carlos a little unsurely, but then smiled again.

"Do you remember getting kissed by a dude, though?" He asked, before bursting out laughing. That stopped Carlos' laughing quickly and he just smiled awkwardly. "I mean, I know he saved your life and all, but if I didn't know any better, that looked pretty different from any normal CPR I've ever seen." James mused, while laughing out loud.

"Yeah, pretty crazy…" Carlos responded nervously. When James' laughter died down, the same peaceful silence fell over them again. Carlos watched all his friends hanging around the pool. Everyone laughing, having fun, not a care in the world. He finally felt at ease again. No more weird thoughts, no more weird dreams. Life was good.

He looked around and then his eyes landed on his best friend, who flirted with a girl passing by. He smiled widely, showing off his pearly whites. How did he get his teeth so white anyway? Huh. He never noticed how nice his lips looked. Did he use lip balm?

Unknowingly, his eyes traveled down, when he noticed how muscular James had gotten. Wow… he knew his friend worked out, but he never really noticed it like this. Just the way his arms flexed whenever he waved at a girl. The way that grey tank top fitted his broad chest.

"Oh, dude, here come the Jennifers." He heard somewhere in the distance.

"Uhuh…" Is the only thing he managed to mutter while staring at a bead of sweat that was slowly starting to form on James' brow. He watched as it started to trail down his face.

"They're coming this way. Act natural." He heard again.

"Sure, ok…" Carlos absentmindedly answered. The bead dripped from his chiseled jaw and slowly fell on top of his arm.

He could hear someone clearing their throat right in front of him, but watching that one drop of sweat making it's way down his best friend's very hot body was a lot more interesting right now. It was enthralling and he couldn't help but feel the heat that was taking over his body and slowly tightening his pants.

"uh, dude?"

"Carlos?" A girl's voice suddenly joined that of his friend's. He looked up slowly, as if in a trance. But he snapped out of it when he noticed the three Jennifers staring at him with crossed arms and a glare. He looked beside him, where James looked at him with a strange awkwardness.

He quickly cleared his throat and looked at them all with wide eyes.

"Let me get this straight; you've been staring at us for like two years now, chasing us everywhere. We turned you down every time. And the one time we come to you, because we were actually concerned over you, you don't even notice us?" Blond Jennifer tells him, getting more agitated by the minute.

"I-I'm sorry?" he asks nervously.

"Ugh, whatever. This was your only and final chance, Carlos. Don't bother to ask us out again." Curly haired Jennifer informed him.

"Let's go Jennifers." Blond Jennifer announced before turning on her heal and stalking off. Curly haired Jennifer quickly followed, while brown haired Jennifer stayed in her place. Her face turned to one of sympathy and she bit her lip. She suddenly leaned forward and gave Carlos a very unexpected kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Carlos." She told him with a small smile. He blushed furiously and looked down.

"Jennifer!" The other two yelled in the distance. She whipped her head around and quickly walked off, looking over her shoulder a few times with a worried glance.

Carlos watched her go and then looked back towards his best friend, who looked at him like he was trying to figure him out. He quickly looked away.

"So uh, care to explain what just happened?" James asked him. He was too afraid to look him in the eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He quietly said, while keeping his eyes on a floatie in the pool.

"Really? So you didn't just ignore the Jennifers, while staring at me?" Carlos looked at him with wide eyes and felt his face go red. "Yeah, I noticed. I mean, what the hell, dude? It was kinda gay…" He mentioned and Carlos felt his heart stop.

Oh god… He did… He did stare at his best friend's chest. He stared at his best friend's totally hot body and… No, stop it! He didn't feel that way… He didn't like guys. He didn't like staring at their chiseled abs and didn't dream of wanting to touch them and kiss them and…

His eyes widened in realization as he jumped up from the lounge chair in a panic.

"Carlos?" James' worried voice sounded beside him. "Carlos!" He yelled out once his Latino friend started to run. He quickly jumped and ran after him, hoping to stop him from running without looking again. But by the time he reached the lobby, the elevator doors had closed, with Carlos inside. He punched the door in frustration.

Carlos felt his breath quickening. He only just got away from James, but he got caught. He got caught staring at him… No, he wasn't gay… He just couldn't be… He did not think his best friend was hot…

Images of his best friend's body looking glistened as he took a shower suddenly filled his mind. His eyes widened and he quickly closed them. He stepped backwards until his back hit the elevator wall. He slid down slowly with his knees pulled up and felt tears welling up.

"This can't be happening…" He whispered to himself as he tried to get his breathing under control.

He was in such a state of mind that he never noticed the elevator reaching his floor and the doors opening.

**A/N Hi! Here's another chapter after a long delay! Hope you haven't abandoned this story just yet.**

**If anything was too confusing, let me know. I can't promise I'll explain everything, because I might give some stuff away ;) But you can always ask :P**

**Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter. And thank you to everyone for reviewing so far and favoriting and story alerting and such, it brightens up my day **

**Enjoying all the concert videos and pics, even though it wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be. Oh well, it is their first tour, so maybe things will change. But they do sound amazing And loving the trampoline!**

**I'll update again soon!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	7. Chapter 7 Of first times

Chapter 7 Of first times…

"I don't know, Brad. I guess he just… oh my god… Carlos?" Randy's voice sounded far away. The boy rushed towards him and leaned down. "Carlos?" he softly asked, but the boy couldn't answer. He just started to sob quietly. Randy looked at his brother, who held the door open and people away, while shooting a worried glance towards the crying boy on the ground. Randy sighed.

"Come on buddy, let's get you inside." He said, while starting to pull the boy up from the floor. But then, he started to panic.

"No… No, I can't face them… I just can't!" he yells out in between sobs. Randy shoots Brad a pleading look and he nods.

"It's okay, Carlos. You can come to our apartment, alright?" Randy softly asked him and Carlos seemed to calm down a little. He nodded slowly and let Randy put his arm around his shoulders and lead him down the hall.

He didn't even notice where they were going, as he couldn't see through his misty eyes.

Randy led him inside their apartment and to their couch.

"Brad, could you get him some water?" He asked, while his brother immediately headed for the kitchen.

Randy sat next to the boy and tried to soothe him by rubbing circles on his back. He mouthed a 'thank you' to his brother after he handed him the glass of water. Brad then sat down in front of him.

They waited for Carlos' crying to subdue and then handed him a tissue and the glass of water.

"Thank you." He sniffled as he wiped his eyes. Randy just sent him a warm smile.

"It's okay." He told the Latino, who tried to smile back, but couldn't manage fully.

"I don't know why you're so nice to me. I mean, after what happened earlier…" He started, when Brad suddenly stood up with his fists clenched.

"What happened earlier?" He asked in warning tone, making Carlos sit back a little with wide eyes. Randy rolled his eyes and got up as well.

"Nothing, Brad. Just calm down. Sheesh..." He mentioned as he pushed Brad to sit down again. "It's fine, Carlos. I mean, if that's how you feel…" Randy said as he also sat down again.

"No, but that's just it… I thought that was how I felt. But now…" tears started to well up once more and Randy frowned. He quickly looked over towards Brad.

"Uh, could you excuse us for a minute?" He asked his brother, who raised his eyebrows first, but then took one look at Carlos, mouthed a knowing 'oh' and nodded, before leaving the room.

Randy closed the door behind him and walked back towards the couch.

"I'm sorry…" Carlos muttered while sniffling again. "I'm just so confused…" He said, before sobbing again.

"It's okay, Carlos. It's going to be fine." Randy said in a soothing tone while scooting closer to the boy and gathering him in his arms. He pulled his head to his chest, where he sobbed, before calming down once again.

"I'm sorry… I can't stop crying…" Carlos said, chuckling a little bit, while wiping his tears with his hands. "And now I got your shirt wet." He said, smiling as he looked at the wet spot on Randy's shirt. He smiled as well. "I'm sorry…"

"You say that a lot, don't you?" Randy asked with an amused smile.

"Sor…" Carlos started to say, before looking away with a blush. "I guess I do say that a lot." He looked back and eyes the proximity between Randy and him. Randy realized it too and quickly scooted further away from him.

"So uh… You want to tell me what happened?" Randy cautiously asked. Carlos' smile faded and he looked down. "You don't have to if you don't..." He started, but Carlos interrupted.

"No, I want to." He mentioned and Randy nodded for him to continue. Carlos looked at his hands again. He looked up and the olive toned boy gave him an encouraging smile. "I uh… After I talked to you I went outside and sat next to James, my best friend. You know, the one with the long hair." Randy nodded in affirmation. "Anyway, we talked a little and then I…" He swallowed a forming lump. "I started having thoughts about him… Stuff that I shouldn't think, that I don't want to think… I just… Oh god, I'm such a mess…" He mutters, before burying his face in his hands.

"Carlos, like you said yourself, it's okay to experiment… I mean, you've never had a relationship before. It's only natural to feel confused some time in your life." Randy told him.

"Were you confused?" Carlos suddenly asked, pulling his head back up.

"I…" Carlos eyed him expectantly. "Well, uh… no, I wasn't." Randy admitted. Carlos groaned and buried his face in a pillow now. "But that doesn't mean it's like that for everyone."

"But what if I'm not?" Carlos suddenly asked as he looked up. Randy frowned.

"Not what?"

"What if I'm not experimenting? What if I'm not confused?" Randy didn't know how to respond, he just eyed the Latino curiously.

"Are you?" He asked carefully.

"I don't know…" Carlos groaned, letting his head hit the back of the couch. He sighed. "I just know that I completely ignored the Jennifers today, who are the hottest girls here. I mean, they walked right up to me and even wanted to ask me out and I didn't even notice… I was too busy staring at sweaty James with his perfect abs and his toned arms…" He started to zone out again, so he quickly stopped himself. "God, what is wrong with me?" He called out in frustration.

"Carlos, there is nothing wrong with you." Randy said with a chuckle. Carlos looked up in confusion.

"What are you talking about? How can there be nothing wrong with me? I'm thinking really dirty thoughts about my own friends, my guy friends… How is that normal?" He asked in exasperation.

"Well, it just means that maybe you like guys." Randy stated, making Carlos look at him with wide eyes. "I mean, when you were staring at James, did you… feel something? Or were you really just noticing how nice his abs looked?" Carlos felt his face heat up.

"I don't… Uh…" he stammered, but then he finally realized it. He remembered what he felt when he saw that droplet of sweat making its way down his body. "Oh my god…" He nearly whispers. "I… I really might be gay…" He said as he turned a look of horror towards Randy, who looked a little upset.

"Well, it's not the end of the world…" He mutters, looking slightly angry. Carlos softened his look.

"I didn't… I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I just… I've always chased girls around and got nowhere with them… I just never figured that this could be the reason…Wow…" he said as he let himself fall back into the back of the couch with is hands holding his face. "It would explain so much…"

Randy looked at him in slight confusion. "So you're not upset about this?" Carlos looked up at him with both eyebrows raised.

"No, of course not. I mean, it's just who you fall in love with, right? Doesn't change who I am. The only difference is that I might like guys now…" He trailed off, seeming to ponder over the thought.

"Might like guys?" Randy asked him.

"Well, I mean, I don't know for sure. I mean, what if it is a phase, you know? I don't want to chase after guys and then figure out I'm not..." He was suddenly interrupted with a pair of lips touching his own. He froze and his eyes widened. He kept his lips parted when Randy pulled back. Neither boy said anything for what felt like minutes.

"What was that?" Carlos then asked him hauntingly, his eyes still wide.

"I just… You said you didn't know for sure, I wanted to help you figure it out." Randy told him.

"So you kissed me?" Carlos asks in exasperation, breathing a little faster.

"I though it might help…" Randy explained when Carlos stood up and started to pace back and forth. "So… did it?" He asked hopefully. Carlos stopped walking and looked at him.

He looked hesitant about something. But then he suddenly seemed to make up his mind and stepped forward. He pulled Randy from the couch, put his hands on his face and promptly planted his lips on the other's. It hardly lasted a second, when Carlos pulled back.

Randy looked at him with surprise. Carlos walked away, his eyes looking nervous. He bit his lip and then looked at Randy again, who looked more and more confused.

"Okay…" He said, frowning. "So, does that mean…"

"Not sure…" Carlos said slowly and walked forward to catch Randy in yet another short kiss. He walked back again, licking his lips and looking at Randy.

Randy shook his head to try and get rid of the daze.

"Wow…" He uttered. "You know, not that I mind, I mean, I don't, I really don't. But seriously, did you feel anything?" He asked with hope and a little hurt sounding through his voice. Carlos stepped forward again, but Randy put his hands on his chest and pushed him away. Carlos looked confused.

"Again, not that I mind. Trust me, it hurts me more than you to stop this. But answer my question first; did you feel anything?" He asked again. Carlos looked at him.

"I…" He started unsurely, when Randy sighed and looked down. Just then he suddenly heard Carlos snicker. He looked up in disbelief and found the boy smirking at him.

"I really don't see anything funny about this…" Randy muttered. Carlos just grinned. Then, it dawned on him. He glared and punched Carlos in the shoulder. The Latino just chuckled and rubbed the now bruised shoulder. "You jerk… Why didn't you just say you felt something the last time?"

"Actually, I think I already felt something the moment you kissed me." He sheepishly admitted.

"So then why all those other kisses?" Randy asked him.

"Why do you think? Because I liked kissing you, duh." Carlos explained and then suddenly blushed when he realized what he said and looked away shyly. Randy started to smile.

"Really now?" He said with a husky voice as he stepped forward. Carlos looked unsure, but nodded slowly, biting his lip again. "Well, then how about we do it the right way this time?"

Carlos frowned, but when Randy slowly leaned in to capture his lips, time froze. The blond began to run his fingers through his hair, while Carlos put his hands down his back. He closed his eyes and kissed back. He then decided to take a step further and darted his tongue across the other boy's lips. Randy in turn quickly gained him entry and the two slowly and sweetly moved their lips together, exploring each other's mouths one step at a time.

Randy was the one to pull back first. He looked at Carlos, who still had his eyes closed.

"So, how was that? Still feeling confused?" He asked in slight amusement. Carlos slowly opened his eyes and smiled with half lidded eyes.

"No, I'm definitely gay…" He softly told the boy, who grinned.

"Good."

"So uh, what now?" Carlos nervously asked and looked up with sudden innocence and inexperience in his eyes. Randy smiled.

"Well, we could hang out together, if you want. You know, like a movie and dinner or something." He looked at Carlos, who looked surprised. "Or not, you know, whatever you want." He said, laughing nervously. Carlos shied away again.

"No, I'd like to go see a movie with you. I mean, you meant it as a date, right?" He said, looking unsure.

"Yeah, I did." Randy told him with a nod.

"Then yeah, I would love to go see a movie with you." Carlos told him quietly. Randy smiled at him and then shook his head. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just glad I met you. You're nothing like any other guy I've ever met. And I mean that in a good way. A really good way." He says with a smile. Carlos smiles back. They sit in short silence.

"So uh… now that you're not confused anymore, I guess you'll have to tell your friends, right?" Randy asks him and Carlos pales suddenly. "What, what is it?"

"James… Oh man… I ran out on him this afternoon. Before running into the elevator, where you found me… Oh, I'm so stupid… he must be worried sick." He explained before getting up from the couch and heading for the door.

"Wait!" Randy calls out when his hand is on the doorknob. "Maybe you should uh, freshen up a little first." He told him with a smirk. Carlos frowned, but then headed for a mirror next to the door.

He gasped at the sight of himself. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, there were tearstains on his cheeks, his lips were swollen from the kissing, which created another blush and his hair was a mess.

"Okay, so maybe I need to freshen up first." He said, sounding embarrassed. Randy nodded teasingly and then showed him to the bathroom.

Half an hour later Carlos emerged, looking a lot better.

"I uh… I hope you don't mind. I used some of your hair gel." He mentioned sheepishly.

"Oh, that's fine. I don't mind. I mean, I hardly use it anyway and it really makes your hair look good." Randy answered, staring a little longer than necessary at the boy in front of him.

"Well, I should uh, get going." Carlos announced as he headed for the door again. Randy followed. "So uh, thanks for… you know…" He said, shying away again. Randy just nodded at the boy in the hallway.

"It's nothing. And uh, if you need anyone to talk to, you know, I'm right here." He offered, which the other gratefully accepted. Carlos almost walked away, before turning back suddenly.

"Uh, about our date…" He started to say.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Just go and talk to your friends first." Randy said, but Carlos chuckled.

"No, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go tomorrow night." He said, with hope in his eyes.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure. I mean, yeah, I can go tomorrow. Tomorrow will be fine." Randy stammered, both laughing nervously.

"Okay, great. Well, I'll uh, I'll pick you up at 7 then." Carlos said and Randy just nodded. "Alright, it's a date." Both boys grinned and then lingered in the hallway. "Uh, I should go now."

"Yeah…" Carlos turned around and Randy moved to close the door, when suddenly a hand pushed it open again. He looked up in surprise and was suddenly engulfed in another sweet kiss. It lasted seconds, before Carlos pulled away and giggled, before hurrying off.

Randy just smiled as if in a daze and closed the door. He leaned against it with his back.

"Wow…"

Both boys were in a daze and feeling giddy, like high school girls. It was their first date after all. The first date for Carlos ever with a guy, so it was pretty special. Carlos touched his lips slowly, still feeling that last kiss lingering. He smiled at the kisses the two boys had already shared and couldn't wait for a whole lot more experiences. But first, he had to come out to his family. He didn't think they would react that badly. After all, he knew all of them and knew none of them had a problem with gay people. But he couldn't help but wonder if it might be different if it was someone they knew?

Little did Carlos know, that kiss in the hallway was already seen by one of his family members. One who walked away in shock and tried to ignore his squealing out of happiness girlfriend, who had witnessed it as well.

**A/N Ooooh…. And the plot thickens ;) Some Coffee Ice Cream from Carlos' fridges for the person who can guess who witnessed it **

**Anywho ;) More chapters to come quickly, because I suddenly feel a lot of inspiration coming on for this story. I have finally made my mind up about who Carlos will end up with, but I'll let you guess that one :P**

**Thanks for the support, your reviews and such really brings a smile to my face. I wish the days were longer so I could keep on writing But I have to work, so no can do…**

**Loved Carlos' new video :P Such a goofball and it didn't make any sense :P But it was fun to watch, since they were all having fun, it made me smile **

**Okay, drifting off again. Look out for a new chapter soon in which Carlos will have 'the talk'… Dun dun dun…**

**Goodnight!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	8. Chapter 8 Confessions

**A/N**** Ok guys, I really can't write in the past tense for some reason :P So from here on out I am writing the rest of these chapters in the present tense. Hope you don't mind ;)**

Chapter 8 Confessions

As Carlos practically skips towards apartment 2J, he can't help but feel amazingly happy. For once in his life he is sure about his feelings. It explains so much. All those years wasted on chasing after girls, while he should have been chasing after guys. Not that he knew before, because he had never really felt like that around a guy. Although it would explain all those weird dreams he had before waking up with a… uhum… problem.

He takes a deep breath, before opening the door to the apartment. He gets ready to greet everyone cheerfully, when he notices Mrs. Knight and Katie comforting Kendall about something.

"Look, I'm sure if you just apologize to her, everything will be okay." Mrs. Knight tells him as she rubs her son's back.

"What happened?" Carlos asks James as he walks past him.

"Apparently he and Jo got into a pretty bad fight and she walked out on him." James explains. Carlos winces. James just nods in agreement.

They both turn around when the door opens and send a warm smile towards Logan. He smiles back, but the moment he sees Carlos, his eyes widen and he looks away.

"Hey, Logie." Carlos tells him with a big smile.

"Uh, yeah, hi." Logan mutters as he quickly hurries past his two friends. Carlos and James both frown.

"Was it me, or did he seem really awkward?" Carlos asks. James nods with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I almost forgot." James suddenly mentions all excited. He puts an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I got us dates for tonight." He announces and Carlos' eyes widen.

"Uh, James…" he starts, but James interrupts.

"No, no, hear me out, this is perfect." James continues as he starts to walk forward. "I was still at the pool, when you suddenly ran away. I was worried for a while, but then this girl walked by." Carlos rolls his eyes. "So I talked to her and she was hot. I mean, really hot." James says with some emphasis. "We had this amazing click right away. And you know, I asked her out. And she said sure, if, I had a friend for her sister to go on a double date. I told her about you and she agreed, so guess who's going on a double date tonight?" James asks, looking very eager and excited again. "I know, I know, you probably want to thank me, but no need. It's my pleasure."

His smile fades when he doesn't see the same excitement on Carlos' face.

"Uh, dude, you don't look very happy." James tells him in a sing song voice.

"Uh, James, why don't you sit down. I want to talk to everyone for a minute." Carlos says. "Guys, could we have a family meeting?" He asks, surprised at his own confidence and feels his happiness growing again.

The others look up in slight confusion.

"Sure, honey." Mrs. Knight tells him as she hugs Kendall one more time, before scotching over, so James can join them on the couch.

Carlos goes to stand in front of them, but then notices Logan lingering in the kitchen.

"Logan, could you get over here too?" He asks with a smile. Logan looks a bit hesitant, but then walks over towards the couch as well. "Okay, well, now that everyone is here… I uh, I have something I have to say." He starts off, still feeling confident. But the moment he looks at his family's expecting faces, he starts to feel the nerves get to him.

"So, what is it?" James asks.

"Uh, I uh… I'm uh…" Carlos stammers. "Wow, is it getting hot in here?" He asks nervously, while the others raise an eyebrow. "So yeah, okay. I called you all here together, because today I found out that I…" He trails off, unable to say it.

"You're what? Weird? Because we knew about that." James jokes. But his grin dies down when no one laughs.

"Come on, honey, just say it." Mrs. Knight says with an encouraging smile. He smiles back and looks into her eyes. Does she know something?

"I uh… I'm…" He starts again as he tries to gather the courage.

"God, just say it already!" Katie suddenly calls out.

"I'm gay." Carlos blurts out, a little louder than he meant. The room instantly goes quiet. They stare at him in slight shock.

"I'm sorry, what?" James asks. Carlos lets out a deep breath and turns to his friend.

"I'm gay." He repeats. James seems lost in thought for a moment and then gets up.

"Would you excuse me for a second? I'll be right back." He says as he hurries out the door. Carlos stares after him in disbelief.

"Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for…" He quietly mentions and then addresses the rest of his family.

"So, are you sure about this?" Mrs. Knight carefully asks him. He slowly nods.

Within seconds, the woman is up from the couch and has him gathered in a tight hug. She kisses his cheek.

"Oh, I never thought this day would come. I'm so proud of you." She tells him, before letting him go. He looks at her in shock.

"What do you mean by that? Y-you knew?" He asks in disbelief.

"Honey, I'm a mother. Of course I knew. I'm so glad you figured it out." She tells him. He frowns a little.

"Yeah, it was about time." Katie pipes out. He whips his head around to face her.

"Katie, you knew too?" He asks her.

"Well, I wasn't sure. But honestly, I thought all four of you were gay. So, I'm just happy to be right about one of you." She explains simply. Carlos raises an eyebrow, but smiles a little as well.

"Well, I'm glad someone's happy about it." He mutters.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm sure James just needs a moment to let it sink in." Mrs. Knight assures him and squeezes his shoulder. "Now, who's up for dinner?" She calls out happily, like nothing just happened.

Carlos smiles while Katie follows her mother. He turns to his other friends on the couch.

"So what do you…" He starts nervously, when Kendall interrupts him.

"Is this what's been bothering you for these last few weeks?" He quietly asks, with a hard look on his face, but his eyes not meeting Carlos'. Carlos shifts on his feet nervously.

"Well, I…" He answers.

"You couldn't have just talked to us about it? You had to act all weird and make up excuses instead?" Kendall asks, before finally looking up. Carlos is shocked at the hurt and betrayal in his eyes. "Why couldn't you just tell us? Did you think we would push you away, is that what you think of us? That we're some kind of homophobe jerks who would turn their backs on their best friend, just because he's gay?" Kendall asks in disbelief, even getting up now. Carlos isn't sure how to respond to the way Kendall is getting all worked up.

"No, it's not like that. I didn't…" Carlos stammers.

"I can't believe you didn't trust us. We could have helped you, Carlos." Kendall says, before shaking his head in disappointment and hurrying towards his bedroom. Carlos flinches when he slams the door behind him. He stares at the closed door in shock and confusion.

"I'll go talk to him." Mrs. Knight offers, but it is clear she is also a little shocked at her son's reaction.

"So, are you mad at me, too, Logan?" Carlos nervously asks as he addresses his smart friend.

"Hm?" Logan responds.

"You haven't said anything." Carlos tells him as he fumbles with his shirt.

"I uh… Is this why you got so jumpy all of a sudden that time during breakfast?" Logan quietly asks.

"Uh…" Carlos stammers. "Well, kind of… I sort of had a weird dream about you guys…" He admits, while rubbing the back of his neck.

Logan looks up with raised eyebrows. "You don't want to know." Carlos tells him quickly. Logan nods in understanding.

"So, I uh, I saw you kissing Randy in the hallway." Logan suddenly mentions, making Carlos' eyes widen.

"Y-you saw that?" He questions in shock.

"Yeah, so did Camille. I've never heard her squeal with happiness like that before." Logan tells him with a light chuckle. "She was so happy to finally get a gay bff or something."

Carlos raises his eyebrows. "And you're not mad or anything?" He asks shyly.

"Well, I admit, it was a little weird to watch my best friend kiss a guy." Logan answers, making Carlos' face fall. "But then I thought about it and you looked so happy. It'll probably take some getting used to, but if it makes you happy, then I'm happy." Logan finishes with a smile.

"Really?" Carlos asks him with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah." Logan tells him. Carlos immediately attacks him with a hug. Logan can't help but freeze and awkwardly pats his back. Just then, Carlos realizes the situation and lets go, his cheeks red.

"Sorry…" He sheepishly says.

"No, it's okay. I mean, just because you're gay doesn't mean we can't touch each other anymore, right? I mean, you do give the best hugs after all." Carlos grins. "And besides, it's not like you've ever thought about us like that, right?" Logan asks him with a smirk.

"Uh, right…" Carlos says in response, not sounding convincing at all. He clears his throat. "We should go see what Mrs. Knight and Katie are making." He says, while heading into the kitchen.

Logan sits for a minute, pondering on what just happened. "Wait, why did you react like that?" He asks, before hurrying after Carlos.

But before the Latino can respond, the door flies open. James smiles widely as he steps in and closes the door behind him. He pants a little and lets out a deep breath.

"Well, it took me some time, but it's all taken care of." He announces happily.

Carlos looks at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Our date. I explained to the girl what happened and it was totally fine. She also has a brother. So, problem solved." James says with some relief. Carlos eyes him for a moment.

"Wait, what?" He asks, while the others also look at him in confusion.

"Well, you said you were gay, right? I mean, we can't go on a double date with two girls when one of us is gay. That wouldn't be fair to that girl. So, I went back to my date and explained the whole situation and she told me she also has a gay brother. So, our double date is totally going on." James explains with an accomplished smile.

"You're not upset about this?" Carlos asks him.

"Upset about what?" James asks in slight confusion.

"About me being gay…" Carlos explains.

"Why would I be upset? Dude, do you have any idea how many girls I' tried to date have asked for me to help set their brother or gay friend up? I mean, this is perfect. You can be my wingman again." He says excitedly, while pulling Carlos against him and squeezing him into his side. Carlos smirks and shakes his head. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just so you." Carlos explains to him.

"So anyway, you know what you're gonna wear tonight? Now that you're officially dating guys, you know you'll have to dress differently, right?" James tells him, before sitting down on the couch.

Carlos thinks about it for a moment, before shaking it off and walking towards his friend.

"Uh, yeah, about that…" Carlos starts carefully.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll help you. I'm sure have some shirts that might fit you." James tells him.

"No, James. I uh, I don't know how to tell you this. I guess there's only one way." He says, becoming very serious as he sits on the coffee table, facing James. "James, I'm already seeing someone."

To his surprise, James starts to laugh. "Yeah, right, Carlos. You never had any luck with girls, but the minute you're gay you get a boyfriend? Right."

"Uh, actually, it's true. I saw him kiss a guy." Logan adds, making Carlos blush.

"What? No way." James says, still in disbelief. But when Carlos shrugs and bites his lip, his smile fades. "Oh my god, you are serious."

"Now don't worry. I can still help you as a wingman, I'm just not available for dating." Carlos tells him.

James sits there in shock. "But the date… That girl is really hot. Like seriously hot." He says in slight sadness.

"There, there, buddy. There are plenty of other girls out there who would love to go out with you." Carlos assures him, while Logan rolls his eyes.

"You really think so?" James asks dramatically.

"Of course. I mean, look at you, you're totally hot." Carlos blurts out, before widening his eyes and seeing that Logan is too. "I mean…" He tries, but James already responds.

"Really? You think I'm hot?" He asks, looking a little smug.

"I don't…" Carlos starts, but then sighs in defeat. "Yeah, James. I think you're hot." He admits sheepishly.

"So you were checking me out at the pool. I knew it!" James says victoriously.

Carlos just smiles apologetically towards Logan, who looks completely creped out.

"Okay, I'm just going to see how dinner's going." He says, before getting up.

Carlos sighs.

"So uh, what do you like about me?" James suddenly asks. Carlos slowly turns his head. James smiles at him smugly. "Is it my eyes? Or my killer smile, huh? Or my rockin' abs?" He gets up to shot his abs, when Carlos shakes his head like the brunette has lost his mind and hurries into the kitchen. "What? It is the abs, isn't it?"

After half an hour, dinner is on the table. James keeps throwing Carlos big smiles, making him feel very awkward. He tries to ignore it by starting conversations with Logan and the others. James finally quits when Katie kicks his shin under the table and sends him a death threat with just her eyes.

The room becomes fully silent, when Kendall finally emerges from his room. He sits down quietly, hardly looking at anyone. Tension lingers in the air, but the others try to make up for it by engaging Carlos in some fun conversations.

After dinner, everyone suddenly heads into the kitchen to clean up, leaving Carlos alone with Kendall, who has gone to sit on the couch again. Carlos shuffles over quietly and sits down on the other end of the couch. Kendall still wears a stone cold expression, making Carlos feel awkward. He clears his throat and rubs his hands over his knees.

"Okay, look. I'm sorry I didn't say anything, Kendall. It's not that I didn't trust you guys. I just… I was confused and I wasn't sure what I was feeling." He explains, before letting out a sigh. "And yeah, I wasn't sure how you guys would react. But it was awkward, especially after that weird dream and…" He stops himself, before he says too much. "Anyway, I know I should have told you what was bothering me. But I was frustrated and thought I could figure it out by myself, you know?"

Kendall doesn't respond. He doesn't even look at him.

"Kendall, please say something… I-I know you're mad, but…"

"I'm not mad." Kendall's voice quietly mentions. Carlos looks up.

"What?"

Kendall sighs and turns to him. "I'm not mad at you. I just… I get why you'd be having a hard time. I guess it just got to me that you didn't even try to talk to us about it. And I was already kind of upset about the fight with Jo, I guess." He admits, looking at his hands.

"What happened with her anyway? I mean, I left you guys to have a date." Carlos asks in concern.

"Yeah, well. I guess my mind was just somewhere else and she got upset that I wasn't playing enough attention to her." Kendall explains, making Carlos frown.

"What were you thinking about?" He carefully asks. Kendall looks up, looking seemingly busted, before looking away again.

"Oh, it's nothing. It was a stupid thing. I just… I should have been paying attention to her, but she got mad and we fought and then she stormed out." He explains.

"Did you at least try to make it up to her?" Carlos asks.

"Hey, wow, when did this conversation become about me? We were talking about you. I mean, why did you tell Randy before us?" Kendall suddenly asks.

"How did you even…"

"I heard you from my bedroom." Kendall tells him. "So, why did you talk to him about it first? I mean, we're your best friends…"

"I only talked to him about it, because I thought he'd understand." Carlos explains. "Since he's, you know, gay too." Kendall is quiet for a moment. "So, are we good?" Carlos carefully asks him. Kendall looks up and smiles.

"Yeah, we're good. I'm sorry for saying those things to you. I know it must have been difficult to come out like that." Kendall says, sounding a little nervous.

"It's okay. Now come on." Carlos says, before getting up and pulling Kendall's arm to get him up as well.

"What are you doing?" Kendall asks in confusion. Carlos just starts to pull him towards the door and opens it. He pushes his friend out into the hallway. "Wait, what…" He is about to ask, when the door closes in his face.

"Now don't come back here until you apologize to Jo." Carlos yells through the door. He hears Kendall starting to protest, before grumbling and sounding further and further away.

Carlos turns around with an accomplished smile. He looks at his family smiling at him, but his smile fades when he sees the look on James' face. The smug smile is back.

"Oh, for god's sake, James…"

"What? You know you love my body." He says with a smirk and wiggling eyebrows. "Hey, I'm going to take a shower. Want to see me with a towel on?" Carlos' mouth falls open in shock and disgust.

"Oh my god…" He says, before putting his hands on his ears and hurrying towards his bedroom, quickly closing the door.

"Oh come on, dude. You're the one who said I was hot!" James calls out, before walking back into the kitchen. "He's so into me." James smugly says, before yelping out in pain when a bag of frozen peas hits him in the head. He rubs his head and looks forward, right into Mrs. Knight's 'look'. He gulps. "I'll just go take that shower now." He says nervously, before running out of the room.

**A/N Carlos has finally confessed Have I confused you enough about who he might end up with?**

**Anyway, thanks for the support last time. If you guys have any suggestions for me to improve the story or if you have requests, whatever, let me know **

**Had a bad day today, so I watched BTM a second time. I love how it's all about Carlos and he's the hero And the Cargan… There was so much of it, I loved it **

**Still not feeling well, a little sick and depressed, but that's a while nother tale. Anyway, enough with my babbling, going to bed and to work at my boring job tomorrow again. Sigh, I so need a new start. Have to get my confidence back up and find a way to communicate easier with people and not be so unapproachable :P Oh well, more food for my therapist ;)**

**Talk to y'all later!**

**Love, Baxxie**


	9. Chapter 9 Luigi's

Chapter 9 Luigi's

The day has arrived for Carlos to have his first date with Randy. And honestly, he has never been more nervous. James has stopped being annoying, but he still sends Carlos a wink every now and then. But as repayment, he has offered to help the helpless boy get ready for his date.

Mrs. Knight hasn't stopped gushing about it, making Carlos feel annoyed, but loved as well. It has also made him realize he will have to tell his parents soon…

Logan is still acting slightly awkward around his friend, but Carlos accepts it. Because he understands it must be a little weird. And he knows Logan does totally accept him, he just needs to adjust a little. And bit by bit, it is working.

And Kendall… Well, he did seem happier when he came back from Jo. But there is something off about him. At more times than one, the guys have found him to be lost in thought. But he keeps telling them he's just thinking about Jo at those moments. His friends have let it go for now, but it's a little worrisome.

At the moment, Carlos doesn't even have space in his mind t worry about any of it. Right now, he is absolutely freaking out about going out on his very first date. With a guy. Whom actually likes him.

"Carlos, would you just relax? You're going to be fine." Logan tries to assure him once again as Carlos just goes into full panic mode. He is pacing the floor of his bedroom, while Logan sits on his bed and James is rummaging through his closet for something decent to wear.

"But what if he doesn't like the date? What if he doesn't like the restaurant I picked? I mean, it's kind of fancy. Maybe it's too fancy for the first date." He stops walking. "Oh my god… It's way too fancy for a first date. He's going to hate it!" He calls out. Logan sighs and stands up. He puts his hands on his friend's shoulders.

"Carlos! For the millionth time: He's not going to hate it. Luigi's is fancy, but that just makes the date more romantic. Besides, you already kissed, so I don't think you need to worry about the date at all." Logan tells him. "Come on, now just sit down and relax, you're creating a hole in our floor." He says with a small smirk.

Carlos does sit down, but he doesn't laugh at all. He just fumbles with his shirt and sits there with a panicky look in his eyes.

"But what if he…" He starts again, when Logan puts up a hand to stop him.

"No more buts. He likes you, you like him. Stop worrying so much and just enjoy the night with him. You'll do fine." Logan says in a soft tone and squeezes his knee for emphasis. Carlos finally nods slowly and Logan smiles at him.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Kendall asks with a wide grin as he bounds in. He immediately heads for the bed as well. "Scoot over." He tells the two, who roll their eyes, but move anyway.

"We're getting Carlos ready for his first date with Randy." James announces, as he scrunches up his face in disgust as he holds another one of Carlos' shirts.

"That's tonight?" Kendall suddenly asks quietly, his smile half gone.

"Seriously dude, you should have come to me earlier. We could have gone shopping. I mean, look at these clothes. Tomorrow, we are going shopping." Carlos opens his mouth to protest, when James continues. "And I am not taking no for an answer." Carlos huffs. "Oh and don't even think about wearing that god awful helmet." Carlos gasps.

"Hey, he said he likes my helmet. Even Brad said it." He continues and crosses his arms.

James rolls his eyes. "He was being polite, Carlos. Now that he's becoming your boyfriend, he's going to be more honest and you should make more of an effort to look good." Carlos' eyes widen.

"My b-boyfriend?" He stammers. "After the first date? It goes that fast?"

Logan sighs. "James…" He puts a hand on his friend's shoulder again. "Carlos, don't listen to him. You can decide to take things as slow as you want, alright?"

"But maybe he…" He starts again and Logan sends him a warning look. "Right. No more buts, just enjoy the evening." Logan smiles and nods.

"Well, I think this will have to do. It's all I could find in such a short time." James says, still not looking happy, but holding up a black tux and white shirt to go underneath it.

"I don't have to wear a tie, do I?" Carlos asks and James sends him a challenging look.

"Uh, of course you do. They're not going to let you in at the restaurant if you go in without one." James tells him. Carlos whines loudly, but still gets up and shuffles towards James and takes the clothes from his hands and heads for the bathroom to change.

James heads for the bed now and sits in between his friends.

"So, where are they going?" Kendall asks out of the blue.

"Carlos is taking him to Luigi's. My suggestion, since it's the most romantic restaurant in town. Perfect for a first date." James gushes. Kendall nods.

Just then, the bathroom door opens and Carlos steps out. He looks very unsure as he stands in front of his friends.

"Well? How do I look?" he asks, his eyes full of uncertainty.

"Meh…" James says, not looking impressed and Carlos looks down right away. Logan swats his arm hard, making James wince.

"Just ignore him, he's being an ass tonight. You look great, Carlitos." Logan says with a genuine smile. Carlos still looks unsure, but stands in front of the mirror to see for himself.

"You think so?" He asks.

"Absolutely." Logan says as he stands up and steps behind Carlos. "Right, Kendall?"

The guys all turn towards the blond for an answer, but find him lost in a trance once again. James elbows him and he looks up suddenly.

"Huh, what?" Logan rolls his eyes.

"Don't you think Carlos looks great?" Logan asks again. Kendall looks at his best friend as he bites his lip for being nervous. He doesn't respond right away and Carlos' face falls even further.

"Oh no… I look ridiculous, don't I?" he asks, looking upset right away. Logan sends a look of disbelief towards Kendall. His eyes widen immediately.

"No, n-no, that's not…" He stammers, before sighing. "You look great, Carlos and anyone who dares to say otherwise is just jealous." He says with a smile, also coming up behind his friend as he checks himself in the standing mirror again.

"Really?" Carlos asks as his face heats up a little. Kendall smiles wider.

"Definitely." He answers softly as he puts his hands on Carlos's shoulders from behind.

"You think Randy will like it, too?" He asks hopefully. Kendall looks at him.

"Uh, yeah, Randy, of course. He'll love it." He says as he steps back. "I uh, I have to go. I'm supposed to meet with Jo. Uh, good luck on your date." He says as he suddenly rushes from the room.

"What was that?" James asks as he stares after his friend. Logan sighs with a worried look.

"Let's not worry about it. We have more important things to tend to." He announces as he changes his attention back to Carlos. "Well, it's almost time. You ready?" He asks and Carlos lets out a deep breath.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He says, letting a small smile appear.

About an hour later, Carlos walks out the door of 2J, his friends behind him, holding up their thumbs in encouragement. He would have been able to leave about ten minutes earlier, if Mrs. Knight hadn't insisted on taking pictures of him. She tried to convince him to get Randy to come over, so she could take pictures of them together. But Katie thankfully stepped up and dragged her mom away.

The moment Carlos rounds the corner, the door to 2J closes for a second. Then Logan and James quickly poke their heads out of the door and looks around if anyone sees them. They quickly hurry down the hall and after Carlos.

"Are you sure we should spy on him? I mean, he's nervous enough as it is." Logan asks as they observe Carlos from a distance just before he is about to knock on Randy's door.

"We're not spying on him. We're here for moral support. And to help him when he messes things up." James explains and Logan raises an eyebrow.

"How is it moral support when he doesn't know we're here? And don't you mean if he messes things up?" Logan asks again. James smiles and shakes his head.

"Oh, Logan, Logan. This is Carlos we're talking about. Of course he'll screw it up. It's only a matter of time. And the moral support is all in spirit, duh. He can totally feel we're here." James explains. Logan just looks at him in disbelief and shakes his head.

Carlos stands in front of the door, his entire body shaking like a leaf. He takes a deep breath, before lifting his hand and quickly knocking on the door. When the door opens, he is greeted by Brad, Randy's older brother. He looks the Latino up and down, before heading back inside.

"It's for you!" Carlos can hear him shouting and suddenly another figure steps out. Carlos is immediately flabbergasted as he stares at Randy. Randy just smiles widely.

"Wow, look at you. Hot in a helmet and even hotter in a suit." The boy says and Carlos blushingly looks down at his feet.

"Thanks, you uh, you look amazing…" He quietly answers back, making Randy chuckle.

"Well, thank you. Shall we go?" He asks and Carlos looks up again.

"Uh, y-yeah, let's go." He answers and Randy closes the door as he starts to walk. Carlos shyly walks next to him.

"Good luck!" Carlos whips his head around towards the familiar voice, but when he doesn't see anyone, he turns his head back.

Around the corner, Logan has his hand on James' mouth and shakes his head with a look of disbelief.

"So, where are you taking me? I mean, I already know it'll be fancy, but I'm curious." Randy asks as the two drive to the restaurant.

"Nope, not telling." Carlos says, a small smirk displaying on his lips when Randy tries to pout. "You are awful at that." He comments and Randy mock glares.

"Well, since you are the master, maybe you should teach me sometime." He replies and Carlos smiles.

"I would love to, but you need to look cute to get that look down, not sexy." His own eyes widen when he finishes the sentence. "I-I mean…" Randy laughs.

"It's okay." He mentions between laughter. "I don't think I've been called that before. Especially not by a cute and insanely hot Latino." He ends with a husky voice. Carlos stiffens as he parks the car.

"Well, we're here." He announces as he quickly gets out of the car. Randy laughs again.

"I love how you keep getting all flustered over me. It's adorable." He says as he leans closer towards Carlos as they walk towards the restaurant. "So, this is the place, huh? Luigi's. Hm, sounds Italian." He says with a wink.

"Well, it is. And James said it's perfect for a romantic first date." Carlos replies, again widening his eyes. "I uh, I mean, if you want it to be romantic, that is, I…"

"Carlos, stop." Randy says with a giggle. "It's alright. This is our first date, so anything romantic sounds amazing. Stop being so nervous." He tries to assure the boy, who looks compleely embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I've never really been on a date like this before, because I usually screw up before it even takes place. But now we're here and I'm just worried I'll ruin everything." Carlos admits, looking at his shoes. Randy goes to stand in front of him and lifts his chin with his index finger.

"Hey. You're not going to ruin anything. I already like you and whatever happens tonight is not going to change that." He says softly and then leans forward to gently kiss the boy on the lips. Carlos closes his eyes and when he opens them, he smiles genuinely. "Now let's go and eat, because I am starving." He announces and rushes for the doors, pulling a laughing Carlos with him.

As soon as the manager finds out it's one of the Big Time Rush boys and that it's a date, he makes sure the two get the best table. A candlelight dinner is set up for them on the balcony, near the band as they play some slow songs in the background. Outside, beautiful lights are set up all around and a view of the stars in all their glory is fully visible.

"Wow, this place is amazing. The manager must really like you for going through that much trouble." Randy comments as the two go through their menus.

"Yeah, we're kind of his best customers. We've all been here together a few times and everyone has had their first date here. Well, except for me, since I've never been on a date, but Kendall and Logan have been here with their girls and James comes here at least once a week." Carlos explains and Randy looks amused. "James likes to go on dates." He explains with a shrug. Randy just nods.

"Still, it's rally nice of him to do this." Randy comments again.

"Yeah, I know. To be honest, I wasn't sure how he'd react, since he didn't know I was gay. Well, not that I knew until a few days ago, but still. I was kind of afraid of what might happen." Carlos softly admits.

"Well, there are people who might act different towards two guys having a romantic evening." Randy says, picking his words carefully. "But thankfully there are also plenty of people who are fine with it and just look at it as just two people in love." He says as he stares at Carlos over the flickering candles.

Carlos looks up from his menu with wide eyes. "What?" He asks in a near whisper.

"Forget I said that. Let's just order." Randy says, suddenly sounding nervous as he quickly shifts his attention towards the menu. Carlos smiles nervously and looks away as well.

"So, what are you having?" Carlos asks after some silence.

"Uh, I'm not sure. You've been here before, what can you recommend?" Randy asks in return.

"Uh, well, I like…" But before he can finish the sentence, a voice interrupts them.

"Carlos, Randy? Oh my god. What a coincidence. I didn't know you guys were coming here." Carlos looks up in shock as a smiling Kendall approaches their table with a confused Jo in tow.

"Uh, well we…" Carlos starts, but Kendall interrupts once again.

"Hey, you don't mind if we share a table, right? I mean, this place is so crowded and this is the best table after all. Great, thanks." He announces as he quickly grabs two more chairs and some dinnerware. Carlos looks at him in shock as he even asks Randy to move over.

"Uh, Kendall? Could I talk to you for a moment?" Jo asks him with a forced smile. "In private." She threatens and Kendall looks at her.

"Excuse us for a minute." Kendall tells the guys and then heads after his girlfriend.

"I'm so sorry about this. I swear I didn't know he was coming here tonight." Carlos immediately apologizes, but Randy just smiles reassuringly.

"It's okay. Kendall is cool. Don't worry about it." He says, but Carlos can't help but feel like the date is now officially over.

"Kendall, what is going on here?" Jo hisses as she and Kendall find a separate place to talk.

"What? I didn't know they would be here." He innocently tells her.

"Maybe not, but it doesn't mean we can just up and join their table." Jo tells him.

"Why not? It's Carlos. He's one of my best friends. And besides, it's not like they're on a date or anything." He then adds with a small chuckle.

"Really? Because the romantic candlelight suggests otherwise. And why else would Luigi give them the best table?" Jo asks with her arms crossed.

"Uh, because Carlos is by far his best customer. He has tried like every dish on here and manages to gush about every piece of food he eats. Luigi loves it when he comes here." Kendall explains to her. "Plus, it is really crowded here."

"It still looks they're on a date." Jo adds again. Kendall rolls his eyes.

"Jo, they are not on a date, alright? Would I really go and join their table if they were? You know I'd never do that." He tells her, putting on his most honest face. She looks at him suspiciously for a moment.

"Fine." Kendall throws in a 'yes' ecstatically. "But! If there is even a slight hint that this is a date, we are out of here and you are in big trouble." She threatens him.

"Don't worry about it. Now let's go eat."

Jo looks at both boys apologetically as she sits next to her boyfriend. Carlos throws Randy an apologetic look once again, but he just smiles reassuringly.

"So, Randy, how old are you? How long will you be staying here in LA for? What are your plans for the future?" Kendall rattles off, making Carlos and Jo both frown. Randy just smiles.

Just then Luigi comes up to their table. He looks at the newcomers in surprise.

"Well, Carlitos, you didn't mention other people were joining you this evening." He mentions with a confused look towards Carlos.

"Yeah, we weren't really planning on it." Carlos answers softly.

"It was such a coincidence. I had no idea they would be here." Kendall says with a chuckle. Luigi looks at everyone for another moment and then nods in understanding at Carlos' sad look.

"Well, no worries." He says with a big smile again. "How about I make spaghetti and meatballs for two?" he offers, sending a wink towards Carlos. Carlos blushes right away.

"I don't know. Is it any good?" He asks, sending a flirtatious smile towards Carlos.

"Oh, it is my specialty. Perfect for a fine evening like this." Luigi answers with a big smile.

"You know what, that sounds perfect. We'll have that." Kendall answers with a smile. Luigi looks at him with a tiny glare.

"I'm so sorry, we're all out." He tells the blond. Kendall frowns.

"But you just offered it to us?" He asks and Luigi grumbles to himself for making that mistake.

"Oh, scuzi. I made a mistake. No more spaghetti tonight. It's all gone." He answers with a nervous laugh and sends a look of apology towards Carlos. He just smiles gratefully in return.

"Okay, then I'll just take the Lasagna Bolognese." Kendall tells him as he hands the man the menu.

"Same for me." Jo adds.

"Uh, I will have uh…" Randy starts and then looks up at Carlos. "Whatever he's having." He says nervously. Now it's Carlos' turn to look amused.

"I'll have the pasta carbonara with Tagliatelli." Carlos answers with a smile.

"Ah yes, very good choice. A double plate of Pasta Carbonara coming right up." Luigi replies with another smile and turns around.

"Actually…" The man stops walking when he hears Kendall's voice. "That sounds really good. I'll have the same." Luigi sighs, before turning around with a forced smile.

"Of course. Three plates of Pasta and one Lasagna coming up." He answers and turns around, heading for the kitchen while grumbling under his breath.

The rest of the evening is spent by Kendall interrogating Randy over every detail of his life, while Jo awkwardly sits beside him. Randy politely answers all questions, while Carlos is trying hard not to attack Kendall right there in the restaurant. And every time Luigi tries to come up with some sort of romantic moment for the two boys, Kendall somehow manages to intervene. The man is trying hard not to throw the blond out, while Jo glares at her boyfriend as she realizes this really was a date after all.

When it's time for dessert, everyone quickly declines, except for Kendall. Carlos and Jo glare at him in disbelief, while Randy tries to avoid being sucked into the tension that has risen. And Luigi just smiles in understanding. When they get ready to go, Carlos offers to pay, when Kendall stops him.

"Uh, you don't need to do that, dude. Everyone should just pay for themselves. It's only fair." He offers.

"Actually, Kendall, I want to pay for this. But since you mentioned it, you can pay for yourself if you want. I'll pay for your and my date, since it's only fair." Carlos spats, before sending a death glare his way and heading for the counter. Jo just shakes her head at him and heads for the bathroom.

"What? What is everyone so angry about? I had a great time." He says with a frown.

At the counter, Luigi comes over once again as Carlos pays for their meals.

"Since he's playing for himself, should I just make his meal a little more expensive?" Luigi offers. Carlos sighs and shakes his head.

"No, that's okay, Luigi. Thanks for trying to help tonight by the way. You didn't have to do that." He replies quietly.

"Of course I did, you're my favorite customer. Just seeing that look of happiness on your face when you eat my food, it will never grow old." He says with a genuine smile. "And next time you bring that nice boy here, I could just close the restaurant for you if you'd like." Carlos looks up in surprise.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Luigi. I wouldn't want other people to miss out on all this amazing food." Carlos replies.

"Oh, Carlitos. You warm my heart." The Italian man replies, grabbing his chest for emphasis. "If you don't want that, how about next time I just ban him from the restaurant." He says with a growl as he points towards Kendall. Carlos chuckles slightly.

"No, that's not necessary." He answers.

"Well, then what would you like me to do?" Luigi asks him.

"You've already done a lot tonight. Thank you again for that. No, this is something I need to straighten out with Kendall. I don't even get why he's doing this. He knew I was going on this date tonight. Why would he join us anyway?" Carlos questions as he stares at his friend, wondering.

"That I believe you should ask him." The man answers and Carlos nods. "But Carlitos, I mean it. If you want to bring that boy over for another date, just say the word. I will have my security men throw Kendall out. It's no problem." Carlos chuckles again and the man smiles. "Just be happy." Carlos nods and he heads back for the three people waiting for him.

"So, where are you heading next?" Kendall asks as they step out together. Randy and Carlos walk together in silence as the tension still lingers.

"Just a movie." Randy pipes up, making Carlos look up in surprise.

"Really? We were just talking about the same thing. What movie are you seeing?" Kendall then adds and Jo's mouth drops open.

"The Hunge…" Randy starts, but Carlos steps in front of him.

"Actually, Kendall, could I talk to you for a minute?" Carlos asks and without waiting for an answer, he grabs Kendall's arm and drags him out of hearing distance.

"Dude, you grabbed me kind of hard there." Kendall scowls as he rubs his arm. Carlos glares at him.

"What are you doing, Kendall? Why are you trying to ruin this date?" He hisses.

"What are you talking about? I didn't know you'd be at that restaurant." Kendall replies.

"No, but you knew I was on my date tonight. And you still joined us and interrogated him all night. Why would you do that?"

"I didn't…" Kendall starts, when Carlos glares at him again. He sighs. "Okay, the truth is, I'm just trying to protect you." He finally admits, casting his eyes down.

"What are you talking about?" Carlos asks in confusion.

"Well, how much do you really know about this guy, huh? I mean, you've only just figured out that you're gay and you're going out with him right away? We don't know anything about him." Kendall explains.

"Why should that matter? You didn't know Jo before asking her out." He tells his friend.

"That's different." He argues.

"How is that different? I just don't understand why you're acting like this. You've never had a problem with me asking people out before I said I was gay. In fact, you tried to help me get dates then. Why has that changed now? Just because I'm gay, it doesn't mean things need to be different." Carlos tells him.

"No, I know and it has nothing to do with that." Kendall starts again.

"Really? Because it sure seems like it. Out of all you guys, I pegged you to be the one to never treat me differently after this. I guess I was wrong…" He nearly whispers the last part with pain in his eyes before walking away.

"No, Carlos, you're not…" Kendall sighs, when Carlos grabs Randy's hand and leads him away. He closes in eyes and turns around to come face to face with his fuming girlfriend.

"I can't believe you." She says, shaking her head. "You told me this wasn't a date. How could you ruin this for Carlos? You know how hard it is for him to find someone who likes him for him. Now he is finally finding out who he is and you're ruining his very first date?" She questions him.

"Look, it's not like they don't know each other. I mean, they've already kissed." He grumbles.

"That is not the point!" Jo says, even though she looks surprised. "You know better than this, Kendall. What is wrong with you? Lately it feels like I don't even know you anymore."

"I'm still me, Jo." He says, as if nothing changed. He reaches out to her, but she steps back.

"Don't touch me. What you did tonight as unforgivable. You better hope that Carlos can manage to salvage some of this date. And as for us, I am not speaking to you for at least until you realize what a complete douche bag you are right now. And no need to drive me home, either. I already called Logan and Camille to come and pick me up." She says as she starts to walk away. Then she stops and turns around. "And you know something? I actually haven't seen or spoken to Camille for days now, because I wanted to spend extra time with you. And I thought with this date tonight, that you actually wanted to do the same. And then I find out I'm just part of this disgusting scheme of yours to spy on Carlos? It's just so…" She growls in exasperation.

"I'm sorry…" He quietly says, but she steps back again.

"No, I am not the one you should be apologizing to. Good night, Kendall. When you've got your act back together, come and see me." She says, before walking off and towards the now waiting car.

Kendall is left standing by himself next to the movie theater, head hanging low in shame for all that he did. Then, he sighs and slowly makes his way towards the parking lot to start his lonely journey home.

**A/N Well, finally some inspiration came to me ;) It might not be the story you hoped I would update, but I hope you like it just the same.**

**I don't have much else to say about this chapter. I'd just like to hear your opinions on it. So if you have any feedback or anything you'd like to say about this story, just leave a review They make me happy **

**Thanks guys for all your patience and hope you continue to read and enjoy this story **

**Love, Baxxie**


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